


After Burying the Dead

by ElleMorgan10



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:55:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 36,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25813897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleMorgan10/pseuds/ElleMorgan10
Summary: The stories of Ahsoka, Rex and Bo-Katan following the events of season 7, before and after they split up. As each of them is trying to cope with the aftermath of order 66 and the rise of the Empire, they'll meet again with old fiends and find new ones. *This story is complete on FanFiction.net, I will post all the chapters here within a few days.**Chapter 2 was missing, I repost it. It should make more sense now.
Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze & Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue: Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my take on what happened directly after the finale. I wanted to see more of Rex and Ahsoka's friendship and more interactions between Rex and Bo-Katan. I also wanted to tie my story to the (very good) novel Ahsoka in order to fill some gaps (I've taken certain liberties, though). So this is it, I hope you enjoy it and don't hesitate to leave a comment!

**Prologue: Aftermath**

Rex looked as Ahsoka paid tribute to his brothers one last time. They were all gone. Not just gone; dead. It seemed so… unreal. They had survived so many battles only to die in a crash, giving their lives to execute an order they didn’t even understand. Rex felt so regretful. He should have listened to Fives; he should have told his brothers about the chips. All of them. Now it was too late. "Sometimes in war, it’s hard to be the one that survives" had said Cody. He thought about his friend. Cody… He wondered what had happened to him and to general Kenobi. In a way, he preferred not to know. The hate he had seen in his brothers’ eyes had scared him more than he would have thought possible. Even on his deathbed, Jesse had repeated the words. "Good soldiers follow orders, good soldiers follow order…" He had tried to fight in Rex’s arms until the last second. It was Ahsoka who had came to take him so they could bury him with the others. If it had not been for her, Rex didn’t know how long he would have stayed there, holding the corpse of his last brother.

“Are you ready?”

Ahsoka was standing in front of him. Bundled up in her large grey cloak, she seemed so old and so young at the same time. Just like him, she had been forced to grow up too fast in order to fight, but the sadness and pain he could now read in her eyes reminded him that she was still just a child.

“I am.”

“Are you sure?”

He was not but he nodded. He knew that staying there longer would only hurt him more.

“We can’t stay here for too long.”

She turned around to look at the helmets on the pikes for the last time.

“I know,” she whispered

They silently climbed into the ship.

“What now?” he asked once he was sitting in his seat.

“I thought maybe we could contact Bo-Katan. Mandalore is not part of the Republic and I think she would help us.”

“It’s not a bad idea, but we let a garrison of troopers to help the Mandalorians. Don’t you think it will be a problem?”

“I know, but at least we know what to expect. Plus, they won’t stay there for long. We could hide until their departure and then… Then we’ll see.”

He had no better idea and he trusted her judgment.

“Mandalore it is, then.”

He tried not to look back as they took off, but he couldn’t hold back his tears.

**********

Ahsoka waited until they had left the planet’s atmosphere before activating her comlink to join Bo-Katan.

“Don’t show them your face,” suggested Rex. “We never know.”

She nodded and disactivated the visual feature of her device before bringing her wrist to her mouth.

“Mandalore? This is starfighter BTLR-4690, come in.”

A male voice with a mandalorian accent answered.

“Starfighter BTLR-4690, this is Mandalore, what do you want?”

“We would like to speak to lady Bo-Katan Kryze, is she available?”

“Who is this from? Please identify yourself, starfighter BTLR-4690.”

Rex and Ahsoka exchanged a glance. They didn’t need to talk to understand what the other was thinking. No name.

“Tell her this is from Fulcrum.”

The Mandalorian didn’t seem convinced.

“Sorry, but lady Kryze is busy, if this is not an urgent matter…”

“It is,” quickly added Ahsoka. “It’s about… the prisoner Maul.”

Her interlocutor remained silent for a moment. He seemed to speak with someone out of sight.

“Alright, stay put starfighter BTLR-4690. She’ll be with you in a moment.”

Ahsoka sighed and leaned against her seat. A few minutes later, Bo-Katan’s voice echoed in the shuttle’s cabin.

“Ahsoka, is that you? Come in.”

“Bo!” Ahsoka would’ve almost cried with relief. “Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

She reactivated the visual feature of her comlink and Bo-Katan’s hologram appeared on her wrist. Her helmet was stuck under her arm, revealing her face. She seemed genuinely concerned.

“Are you okay? We’re beginning to hear all kind of stories. They say the Jedi have been killed by clones.”

Ahsoka sighed again.

“Those are not stories. We barely escaped our own men.”

“We?”

“Rex is with me.”

“But you said the clones…”

“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But right now… We’re starting to get tired, if we could just land somewhere…”

“Yes, of course. You can come on Mandalore.”

“Thanks.”

“No prob…”

“Oh! One last thing: nobody has to see us.”

“Copy that. You can land outside of Sundari. There is an old Death Watch outpost where we could meet. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

“Thank you, Bo.”

“You don’t have to thank me, kid. I owe you one.”

The hologram disappeared and Ahsoka turned to Rex.

“It’s over now. We’ll be safe there.”

“I hope you’re right.”


	2. The Night of a Thousand Tears

**Part I: The Night of a Thousand Tears**

The sun was setting when they arrived on Mandalore, making the temperature of the desert more bearable than usual. The coordinates given by Bo-Katan had led them just a few miles from Sundari, but the place was deserted enough to make them feel like they were on a totally different planet. There was nothing for miles around except for the outpost Bo had told them about. The building was a fairly small construction, very simply made of white stone, and thus fully adapted to the desert climate. It was a decrepit, old, remote place but perfect for them to hide for some time. They landed their ship next to a Mandalorian shuttle that was already there, and Bo-Katan came out of the outpost almost immediately.

"Don't worry, I'm alone," she said. "How are you?"

Neither Rex nor Ahsoka were able to answer. Ahsoka opened her mouth but only to let out a quiet sob. The Mandalorian, who seemed to understand how serious was the situation, spoke gravely.

"Come inside. You'll be able to eat and rest. Then you'll tell me."

They followed her into the building. The interior was as white as the outside but in much better condition. It was completely empty apart from one room, whose only furniture consisted of a table, three chairs and a mattress. Although the decor was somehow stark and minimalist, it was nothing a soldier or a Jedi weren't use to. Rex and Ahsoka sat at the table, soon joined by Bo-Katan who was bringing some bottles and what seemed to be military rations.

"Sorry about the food. I had to be quick and the city still suffers from food shortages."

"Don't worry, we're grateful that you've accepted to help us," Ahsoka answered.

Bo watched them as they began to eat their rations.

"I'll let you rest," she said, getting up from her chair. "I'll come back later when you're better."

"No, wait," Ahsoka said. "I think it's better if you learn what happened now. It could change a lot of things in the days to come."

Bo-Katan frowned and sat down again.

"You're worrying me."

Ahsoka gave her a sad look and began to tell what had happened. The deeper she got into the story, the more emotional she became. More than once, she had to stop in order to put herself together and contain her tears. When she arrived at the moment where Jesse had threatened them in the hangar, Rex promptly rose from his chair and left the room. He had remained terribly silent since they had left the crash site and Ahsoka was getting more and more worried about him. When she finally got to the end, she was in tears.

"I'm so sorry for Maul. I know you tracked him for months and…"

Bo put a hand on her forearm.

“Hey… It's okay, kid. You did what you had to do. We've captured Maul once; we could do it again. Right now, the most important thing is that you're alive."

Ahsoka wiped away a tear from her cheek.

"But if what Maul has said is true… The Republic…" She buried her head in her hands. "I should've listened to him."

"If what Maul has said is true, then there was nothing you could do. It was bigger than all of us."

"Maybe…" She didn't sound convinced.

Bo rose from her chair.

"I'll let you rest. Now that Maul is gone, there is quite a lot of reconstruction to do, but as soon as I have some time off, I'll come back."

"Thanks, Bo"

The Mandalorian nodded and left the room. Ahsoka got up slowly. Now that all the adrenalin had left her body, she could barely stand on her legs. Still, she managed to walk to the next room to check on Rex. She found him looking through what seemed to be an embrasure used to watch the arrival of potential enemies.

"Hey… How are you doing?"

He turned around to look at her.

"I…"

Rex closed his eyes. No words could express the pain he was feeling.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," Ahsoka whispered.

He didn't answer right away and for a brief moment, Ahsoka feared he might be angry with her. But then he opened his arms and she threw herself against him. They cried silently on each other's shoulder for a while before Rex finally broke free from the hug.

"You should go and rest, now."

"What about you?"

"Take the mattress first, I think I'll stay there a little longer."

She tried to protest but her fatigue got the best of her and she left the room. After everything that had happened, she never thought she would be able to fall asleep, but she did. Thankfully, it was a dreamless night. The kind of deep sleep you would usually experience after a particularly tiring day. Which in Ahsoka's case, was an understatement.

**********

The young Togruta was awakened by a distant, thud noise. She opened her eyes, blinking. The first thing she noticed was Rex, all geared up, asleep on a chair in front of the mattress. She smiled at the realization he had tried to watch over her before falling asleep himself. But a second noise, louder this time, warned her something was happening. It sounded like an explosion. Rex woke up and immediately got on his feet.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

She got up and walked to the window to see if she could get a glimpse of what was happening. But the desert outside was as calm as usual. Sundari was too far to be seen from the outpost.

"I can't…"

The door suddenly opened and Bo-Katan burst into the room. She had her helmet on and held a blaster in each hand.

"Get up! Quick! You need to go!"

Ahsoka's heart began to beat faster.

"What's happening? What are those noises?"

"We don't have time to explain, you need to leave!"

"But… Maybe we can help!"

"No."

She lowered her guns.

"I'm sorry. Something happened during the night. The clones say they received a new order. They say they have to take Mandalore in the name of the Empire. They launched an attack on a field occupied by our forces. Foundlings were among them. Young children…"

Her silence was suggesting the worst.

"The casualties are heavy. We're still fighting, but I won't be able to guarantee your security much longer. And after what you told me yesterday, you'd better leave before the clones find out about you."

Ahsoka suddenly realized that what she had taken for the end of the nightmare was actually only the beginning. All of a sudden, she felt terribly naive to have believed that Sidious' rise would be seamless.

"I'm sorry," Bo said. "I wish I could've done something else for you."

"We… We understand. You have to protect your people."

"We'll see each other again."

Ahsoka smiled sadly.

"I'm counting on it."

Bo turned around to leave but as she was stepping outside the room, her comlink rang and Ursa's hologram appeared in the air.

"Ursa, what's going on?"

"We're losing, Bo."

"What…?"

"The clones have freed Saxon and his men and they've pledged allegiance to the Empire. We're outnumbered, the city is lost."

Rex and Ahsoka exchanged a look. They both knew what Saxon was capable of.

"Try to hold our remaining positions. I'm on my way, we'll find a solution when I'm back," Bo-Katan answered.

"No, you don't understand."

Ursa removed her helmet. She seemed completely crushed.

"They've taken my daughter hostage."

Ahsoka gasped. She remembered the young Sabine. What kind of monster would use a child against her mother?

"Those of us who haven't been taken prisoners fear for their families. It's over, Bo. You need to leave while you still can."

"No! I will not abandon you. I will not abandon my people. I've been fighting for Mandalore my whole life, I'm not going to stop now!"

"You will be of no use to Mandalore if you're dead! Please, Bo…"

Ahsoka and Rex watched as Bo-Katan's shoulders slumped down. When she spoke again, she sounded defeated.

"Korkie…?"

"Gone. I don't know where he is, but he told me he would contact you once he's safe."

Bo remained silent for a moment.

"I'll come back. I promise."

"You'll always be the rightful ruler of Mandalore, my lady."

The transmission went dead and Ursa disappeared. Ahsoka stepped forward and put her hand on the Bo-Katan's shoulder.

"Ursa is right, Bo. You can't help Mandalore if you're dead."

The Mandalorian didn't answer.

"There is not so much room left in our ship, but I think we could manage," the young Togruta said.

"No, we'll… We'll take my ship. Pack your things, we'll leave as soon as we can."

"Do you need to go back to pick up something?" Rex asked.

"I'm a Mandalorian. My armor is all I have and everything I need."


	3. May The Force Always be with Obi-Wan Kenobi

**Part II: May the Force Always be with Obi-Wan Kenobi**

It took a few days for the trio to find Tahlar. More than once after their escape from Mandalore, they had landed on a planet only to discover the Empire had already taken control of it, forcing them to flee one more time. Ahsoka seriously thought about returning to Coruscant multiple times. She wanted to go back to the temple and to Anakin… It took the concerted efforts of Rex and Bo-Katan to convince her that the city-planet was too dangerous, but the voices she had heard on the Venator just before the clones’ attack, the pain she had felt… It still haunted her. She had desperately tried to reach Anakin through the Force. In vain… After a while, she had finally come to accept the obvious: her master was dead. In a way, it was easier to believe. It was the evidence Maul had lied.

They ended up Tahlar on the third day. It was a fairly small planet near the Kessel sector whose main economic activity was furniture manufacturing. The Empire didn’t seem to have taken an interest in dinner tables production (not yet, at least), meaning that Tahlar could serve as a good hideout for a while. The trio had settled in a city called Kaleek, mostly inhabited by poor factory workers. They had found a cantina on the edge of town where you could eat for cheap, and rented a small room on the second floor only to use the shower. None of them was feeling safe enough to sleep anywhere else than onboard Bo’s Gauntlet starfighter. The cantina was frequented by workers who were coming at the end of the day to spend their paycheck, as well as many petty criminals who were trying to lie low. It was the kind of place where nobody would ask where you were coming from.

**********

“What can I get you, ladies and gentlemen?”

Bo looked up to the protocol droid, trying not to reveal her face too much. All of them were wearing long hooded cloak to avoid drawing too much unwanted attention. Both Rex and Bo-Katan had very distinctive armors and Togrutas were not common enough in that part of the galaxy for Ahsoka to go unnoticed.

“The three of us will take the daily special.”

“Excellent choice! Today we serve an excellent mynock roast with…”

“ _Yes_. We’ll take that, thank you.”

The droid bowed and walked away from their table.

“Droids…”

They were sitting in the cantina, waiting for their meal to be served. The place was fairly empty at that time of the day, but a few workers had come to have lunch. The sound of their chatter along with the noise of the giant screen behind the bar were sufficient to cover Bo, Rex and Ahsoka’s own conversation. Not that they were talking much. Rex was visually scanning the room to identify any potential threat, while Ahsoka was silently looking at the small hologram portraying the faces of various wanted people that was spinning in the center of their table. “We look terrible,” thought Bo. Rex had not shaved for days, and a dark shadow was beginning to grow on his cheeks. Ahsoka’s montrals and lekku seemed like they were beginning to lose their color, and even though Bo didn’t know what it meant for a Togruta, she was certain it was not a good sign. As for the young Mandalorian herself, the dark circles under her eyes made her look like she had aged ten years since they had left Mandalore. “That’s perfect to fit among those people, I guess,” she told to herself.

“What is that?” Rex suddenly asked.

Ahsoka and Bo-Katan turned towards the direction Rex was discreetly pointing at. On the street, a small crowd was gathering at the door of the cantina. It was highly unusual in this part of the city normally empty during the day. The Mandalorian frowned.

“Wait for me here. I’ll see what’s happening.”

She rose from her chair and made her way to the entrance of the bar. The group was relatively small but people were speaking with great animation. They seemed to be looking at some kind of poster on the wall. Bo spotted a Quarren that was standing aside, a cigarette in his mouth.

“Hey, you!”

The Quarren turned to her.

“What’s going on, here?”

“You don’t know? The mayor made an announcement this morning.” He tried to mimic a Coruscanti accent. “All the jobs are to be converted to arms manufacturing on the Emperor’s orders.” He sneered. “Yeah… The men are worried. They don’t know who’s gonna pay for the reconversion process, y’know? Most of them have never touched a weapon before.”

Bo glanced at the poster on the wall. She couldn’t get a good look because of all the people standing in front of it, but she could definitively see the sigil of the new Empire on the poster’s upper part. That was no good news.

“Thank you,” she said to the Quarren without listening what he was still talking about.

She got back inside the cantina where Rex and Ahsoka were waiting, an anxious look on their faces.

“So…?” Asked Ahsoka.

“The Empire has ordered that all Tahlarian facilities switch to weapon production.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” said Ahsoka. “This most likely means imperial representatives will soon come to Tahlar to oversee the transition.”

“We should leave tomorrow while we still can,” added Rex.

“I agree. We could…”

Bo-Katan paused. The waiter droid was coming back with their meals.

“Here you go. Three delicious pieces of meat for you.”

“Thanks,” Ahsoka said as the droid put their plates on the table.

“The pleasure is mine, enjoy!”

The droid gone; Rex grimaced in disgust.

“That looks like anything but meat,” Bo-Katan said.

“Well… It’s all we have,” Ahsoka answered.

She took a first bite and swallowed it with difficulty.

“What does it taste like?” Rex asked.

“Bad.”

The three of them chuckled, and as Rex and Bo-Katan were dipping into their own plates, the room suddenly fell silent. The holograms at the center of the tables turned off, as well as the giant screen behind the bar.

“What’s happening?” Ahsoka said with a frown.

The response came quickly as a voice filled the cantina.

“Citizens of the civilized galaxy, on this day we mark a transition.”

Rex and Ahsoka tensed up. They had both recognised Palpatine’s voice. Sidious’ voice. A broadcasting of his speech appeared on every screen of the cantina.

_“For a thousand years, the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of civilized beings. But there were those who would set us against one another, and we took up arms to defend our way of life against the Separatists. In so doing, we never suspected that the greatest threat came from within. The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, had conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy's leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic into ruin. But the hatred in their hearts could not be hidden forever. At last, there came a day when our enemies showed their true natures. The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the clone army. But the aims of would-be tyrants were valiantly opposed by those without elitist, dangerous powers. Our loyal clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds. The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated!”_

Ahsoka and Rex were in shock. And as if this was not enough, the hologram in the center of the table reappeared; only this time, it showed the face of a Jedi. In the background, Bo could hear Palpatine’s speech continuing, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the hologram. The face was that of a male Zabrak and below it was a small inscription in Galactic Basic. _Wanted: Zubain Ankonori, Jedi knight_. Bo glanced at Ahsoka. She didn’t seem to recognize the Zabrak, but she was slightly shaking. After a few seconds of spinning in mid air, Zubain Ankonori’s face disappeared and a new one materialized. This time it was a male Iktotchi. _Wanted: Ferren Barr, Jedi knight_. Next was a young boy called Caleb Dume, followed by a certain Selrahc Eluos, and then Kirak Infil’a. The names and the faces kept appearing one after the other. At some point, Ahsoka began to mutter something under her breath. A prayer of some sort, the Mandalorian guessed. But then she saw _him_. The three of them did. Ahsoka abruptly stopped whispering and Rex gasped.

_Wanted: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi master_.

The man they had spoken with only a few days ago was there, spinning in the center of their table like a criminal to be fed upon by bounty hunters. They were all looking at him. It seemed as if time had stopped; but the image eventually faded away, leaving them with a weird mix of hope, joy and worry. Ahsoka turned to Rex.

“Do you think Cody…?”

He shook his head, sadly.

“No. He didn’t know about the chip. And I’ve never seen Cody disobey an order.”

He paused.

“Can you sense him? I mean… through the Force?”

“No… For all I know, he might be dead and the Empire didn’t find his corpse yet. Or…”

She seemed to hesitate.

“Or he might be hiding and concealed himself in the Force. I’ve only heard rumors about such abilities, but master Kenobi has always been very skilled in the Force. He might have been able to achieve it.”

“I’m sure he’s alive,” Bo said. “That man survived a Mandalorian civil war. Twice. I know how to recognize a great warrior when I see one.”

“I agree,” Rex said. “He’s one of the best generals I have fought alongside with.”

“Yes…” Ahsoka added with a smile. “He is a great Jedi and a great man.”

Bo raised her glass.

“To Obi-Wan Kenobi, then. May the Force always be with him.”

The other two imitated her.

“To Obi-Wan Kenobi!”


	4. Farewell

**Part III: Farewell**

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Bo and Rex both turned quickly towards Ahsoka. The three of them were sitting in the cockpit of their shuttle, trying to busy themselves as they could while the sun was setting. Bo-Katan was trying to find the good frequency on the radio to listen to the news, Rex was repairing his pauldron and Ahsoka was watching them silently. At least until she had decided to drop the bomb.

“What do you mean?” Rex asked, frowning.

“I’ll find a new ship tomorrow in the morning; I’m going my own way.”

The other two remained silent for a moment before beginning to protest in a single voice.

“Wait a second, you can’t just decide to leave us like that!” Bo exclaimed.

“No! We’re in this together, I’m coming with you,” Rex added.

“You won’t change my mind,” the young Togruta answered calmly.

“There’s no need, because we’ve decided for you,” Bo stated. “You’re not going anywhere on your own.”

“You don’t understand…”

“ _You_ don’t understand. I owe you, Ahsoka. I won’t let you leave just like that,” the Mandalorian said. “I’ll fight you if I must.”

Ahsoka tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

“If you can beat me!”

“She’ll have me to help. There’s no way I’m not going with you,” Rex answered, visibly unamused.

The last trace of smile faded on Ahsoka’s face.

“Please, don’t make this more difficult than it already is. I wish I could stay with you…”

Bo interrupted her.

“You can.”

“No, I’m putting you in danger. It’s only a matter of time before the Empire arrives on Tahlar.”

“Then we’ll find somewhere else to go! There’s no need to split up,” Rex said.

Ahsoka shook her head.

“Sooner or later, we’ll be confronted to them, whether it’s here or not. And when that day comes, I don’t want to be around you.”

“Don’t worry for us. We can defend ourselves.”

“Not against the whole Empire, Rex. You’ve seen Palpatine’s speech, you’ve heard what he said about the Jedi. He a Sith lord, he won’t stop until the last of us is dead.”

“But you’re not a Jedi, not anymore!”

She could sense the despair in his voice.

“It doesn’t make a difference to him.”

Ahsoka closed her eyes, trying not to cry again. She had to appear confident, otherwise they would continue to argue with her. Maybe they really would fight her, after all.

“I don’t care,” Rex said. “I prefer getting caught with you than living on my own, not knowing where you are.”

She felt a tear roll on her cheek and cursed herself internally.

“Don’t say that! Even if it wasn’t for me, you’d be both wanted. If they catch you, they won’t just kill you. They might torture you!”

“I don’t care, I…”

“They’ll use you against your people,” Ahsoka said, turning to Bo-Katan. “Do you really want to become a bargaining chip for their freedom? Don’t you want to live to fight for Mandalore?”

Before the young woman could answer, Ahsoka turned to Rex.

“And they’ll use you against your brothers. They’ll know you removed your chip. They’ll want to know how you knew about it and if you told anyone else. And when you’ll tell them you haven’t, they won’t believe you. They’ll become paranoid; execute every clone they suspect…”

“Stop.”

“I’m sorry, but you have to understand. I represent a risk for you and for everyone that matters to you. By leaving, I give you a chance to survive. You’re my friends, I want you to survive.”

Nobody said a word for a long time. The sun was down, now.

“You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you? We’re not going to make you change it.”

Ahsoka looked at Bo. The young Mandalorian had spoken with a soft voice. She truly seemed saddened.

“No, you won’t.”

“Then I’ll help you find a good ship tomorrow. It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you.”

She turned to Rex to see his reaction. His face was impassive but she could sense his pain through the Force.

“Rex…”

“I’m going for a walk,” he said, rising from his seat.

“No, please… Say something. I don’t want to leave you like that.”

He didn’t answer and left the ship. Bo put a hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder.

“He will understand. I’ll take the first watch, go get some sleep. I think you’ll need it.”

**********

Rex rolled over on his bunk. No matter how hard he was trying, he wasn’t able to close his eyes. He rose, sat on his bed — or whatever the hard mattress he was sleeping on was called — and looked around him. The interior of the Gauntlet was dark; the lights inside had been turned off and there were not so many lampposts to light up the night on Tahlar. But he was still able to see that only a few meters in front of him, Bo-Katan was quietly sleeping on her own bunk, which meant that it was Ahsoka’s turn to watch over the ship. Rex got out of bed and, trying not to wake up the Mandalorian, went outside. Just as he had expected, he found Ahsoka sitting on the landing ramp. She immediately turned her head in his direction.

“I can’t sleep,” he said.

“I couldn’t either,” she answered with a little smile.

He stood silently by her side for a moment before she finally spoke.

“Rex, I… I’m so sorry to…”

“It’s okay, kid. Don’t bother.” He paused. “I trust you more than anyone else in this galaxy. If you think that’s the right thing to do, then… I won’t try to stop you.”

She glanced at him sadly.

“I really wish I could have stayed with you.”

“I know.”

Ahsoka looked up to the sky and silently watched the stars. After a while, she pointed to a constellation.

“Anakin once told me that’s where his name was coming from.”

“Do you reckon that’s true?”

“I don’t know. He also told me master Obi-Wan’s name came from a very famous grassland on Stewjon. He said that particular grass was well known for its nutritional properties for falumpasets.”

Rex chuckled.

“I see…”

They laughed quietly before Rex became serious again.

“Promise me you won’t go back to Coruscant to find out what happened to him.”

Ahsoka didn’t answer right away. The thought had definitively crossed her mind.

“He was my general but he was my friend too,” Rex continued. “No one would like to believe he is alive more than I would. But you said yourself you couldn’t sense his presence anymore, and I’m not ready to lose my last friend only to… To verify something we just don’t want to believe is true.” He took a breath. “And if he is alive, then our paths will cross again someday. I’m certain of that.”

She looked at him. He was sincere and it moved her.

“I promise.”

He seemed relieved.

“So… You never told us how you ended up on Oba Diah before meeting our Mandalorian friend.”

“Oh Force! That’s a looong story.”

“Well,” he said sitting at her side. “We have the rest of the night.”

**********

The following morning, Bo-Katan found them on the landing ramp, sleeping on each other’s shoulder. She woke them up so they could start looking for a ship for Ahsoka. They searched for a while but eventually found an old _Theta_ -class shuttle. It wasn’t in particularly good condition, but the price was low and the salesman not too curious. They brought it back to the Gauntlet and Ahsoka proceeded to pack the few things she had saved from the crash. When she finally finished, the sun was high in the sky but it felt like only a second had passed since her talk with Rex on the landing ramp. It was already time to say goodbye. Bo-Katan made a step towards Ahsoka.

“It was an honor to fight alongside you, Ahsoka. I’ll never forget what you did for Mandalore… and for me. Had the rest of the Jedi been like you…”

She stopped herself just in time. Now was maybe not the right time to criticize the friends Ahsoka had just lost. The young Togruta smiled sadly.

“We have not always been on the same side but I know you love your people. I’m sure you’ll retake Mandalore when the time comes.”

Bo-Katan nodded and gave her a grateful look. Ahsoka then turned to Rex but her words suddenly died in her throat. Noticing her emotion, he offered her a kind smile.

“I’ll miss you Ahsoka.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

She hesitated for a moment before hugging him.

“When all of this is done, I’ll find you, I promise.”

“I know you will, kid. I’ve never doubted you.”

Ahsoka broke free from the embrace and took a step back. For a split second, she read all the sadness and the vulnerability in her friend’s eyes and saw the thirteen years old boy he really was. It took her all her strength to turn her back on them and climb into her ship.

Bo-Katan and Rex looked at her until the _Theta_ shuttle disappeared from their sight.

“So… What will you do now? Go back to Mandalore?” Rex asked Bo-Katan.

“Not yet. Ursa was right; I can’t fight Saxon alone. I’ll need a place to hide and to gather allies as the dust settles.”

She sighed

“The only problem is… I don’t know where.”

He seemed to think.

“Well… I thought about where I’d go after Ahsoka told us she wanted to leave and I might’ve had an idea. Of course, now that she is gone, nothing forces us to stay together but if you’re looking for a place, I can take you there with me. Plus, I could use the skills of a Mandalorian in case we cross paths with the Empire…”

“From what I’ve seen, I think you could put up a good fight,” she said with a small grin. “But… why not? I’m hardly in a position to be picky with my choice of hideouts.”

She gave him a small nod.

“Thank you.”

He shrugged.

“Yeah, well… It’s not like there are a lot of people out there that you can trust, now. I guess we need to stick together.”

“So,” she said as they were going back to the Gauntlet. “What coordinates do I enter?”

“Saleucami”


	5. The Deserter

**Part IV: The Deserter**

Bo looked out the window as they were leaving the airspace of the capital Taleucema. Saleucami was definitely a beautiful planet. They had seen dazzling cities made of elegant high towers and suspended gardens and colorful streets. It looked just like the pictures in the travel magazines she used to read when she was a child. She had dreamed so many times to travel across the galaxy; the little eight-year-old Bo would have been amazed. Now she just wished it would have happened under other circumstances.

“So…” began Bo-Katan. “Who’s this friend we’re going to see?”

“Well… It’s a long story. To make things short, we were chasing general Grievous one or two years ago, and followed him all the way here. I got shot during an altercation with commando droids and my brothers had to find a shelter so I could rest until the end of the mission. Cut took a great risk by welcoming me into his home.”

“And that’s why you trust him.”

It was an observation more than a question.

“Yes”

“What about your brothers? The ones who knew of this place? Don’t you think there’s a risk they could also come back?”

He briefly closed his eyes in an attempt to pull himself together before answering her question.

“No. Kix had been missing for weeks before we left for Mandalore. According to the last transmission of the ship he was travelling in, he was captured by the Separatists. Force knows where he is, now… Hardcase died on Umbara one year ago. He sacrificed himself so we could take the planet. And Jesse…” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Jesse died on the crash last week.”

Bo remembered what Ahsoka had told her about their escape after Order 66. She knew what it meant to lost a sibling.

“I’m sorry.”

He nodded silently.

They continued to fly over the countryside. This particular area of the planet was hilly and covered in a strange mix of palm trees and conifer. For the first time in weeks, Bo slowly began to feel some kind of appeasement. It definitively seemed like a quiet place where nobody would come looking for them. They finally approached what looked like a farm surrounded by fields of big flower-like plants she had never seen before.

“Here we are,” said Rex. “That’s the Lawquanes’ house.”

“All right. I’ll land on the field right there.”

She managed to bring the ship down without too much turbulence. On her side, Rex was finishing to turn off any switch and [navigational instrument](https://context.reverso.net/traduction/anglais-francais/navigational+instrument) that needed to be.

“I hope I’m not doing a mistake,” he whispered.

They cautiously got out of the Gauntlet.

“Well, it’s remote enough, I guess…” said Bo-Katan, her voice muffled by her helmet.

“Just like I remember it,” added Rex, removing his own.

Almost instantly, two small heads emerged from the nearest field, startling Bo-Katan.

“What was that ?!”

The answer came quickly. Children. It was only children. “You really need to relax, Bo,” she thought before removing her helmet as well, in order to take a second look at the two little terrors. The tallest one was a blue-skinned girl about ten years old. She was accompanied by a boy just a few years younger that seemed way too excited to see the newcomers. Both of them had Twi’lek lekku but there was something definitively human about their features.

“Uncle Rex!”

The boy jumped from his hiding place and run towards them only to throw himself against Rex’s legs, causing the clone to sway slightly.

“Hey buddy!” answered Rex, ruffling his hair.

Bo looked at Rex in astonishment.

“Uncle?”

The clone looked at her and carefully answered.

“Cut is a clone deserter. Shaeeah and Jek are his children.”

He seemed to be waiting for her reaction but before she had the chance to say anything, the boy began to jump around them.

“Dad will be so _thrilled_ to see you!”

His sister followed him and stepped out of the field.

“Don’t listen to him. He just learned that word, so now he says it all the time.”

“That doesn’t mean he won’t be thrilled to see him!” her brother protested.

Shaeeah rolled her eyes and Jek grabbed Rex’s hand.

“Come! Quick! Mom and dad are at home!”

He began to drag the soldier towards the house that was standing a few meters away and Rex followed the boy without too much resistance. Bo remained alone with Shaeeah that seemed to notice her presence for the first time.

“Who are you? His girlfriend?”

“Huh… Not exactly, no.”

“Your hair is weird. But I like it.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“I’ve always wanted to have real hair. Mom says I should be proud of my lekku. She says human’s beauty is not the only beauty.”

Bo decided to make her way to the house, not sure she wanted to become the object of the girl’s questions for too long.

The front door was wide open when Rex and Jek arrived in front of it.

“Mom! Dad! Look who’s here!”

He didn’t have to say it twice as Cut appeared almost immediately in the embrasure. He had not changed much; aged a couple of years, maybe. He grinned at Rex.

“I knew you’d come back, someday.”

Rex smiled back.

“I’m glad to see you, Cut.”

The veracity of his own words struck him as he spoke them. Cut was probably the last of his brothers he would ever talk to again.

“Captain Rex,” Suu emerged from behind her husband. “I didn’t think we would ever see you again but it seems that my husband was right on this one.” She grinned. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, Suu. I wish I didn’t have to come back to seek your help.”

Cut opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly noticed Bo-Katan that was approaching with Shaeeah.

“Oh… I see you’ve made a friend…” he said giving Rex a knowing smile.

It took a few seconds for Rex to understand.

“It’s not what you…”

He was interrupted by Shaeeah who clung to her father’s legs.

“Look dad! She has a jetpack!”

Cut observed Bo-katan more closely.

“You’re a Mandalorian,” the farmer said flatly.

He wasn’t smiling anymore; he had spoken with a mix of defiance and admiration. But before Bo could add anything, Suu took a step closer to her husband and spoke.

“You’re not any Mandalorian. I’ve seen you on the news. You’re their leader, the one that escaped the Empire.”

Rex glanced at Bo-katan, unsure how she would respond. But the young woman seemed to opt for the truth.

“I am,” said Bo-Katan. “My name is Bo-Katan Kryze of Kalevala. I left my planet after the Empire massacred my people and turned most of my allies against me. They burned our homes and killed our children. Some of us have managed to escape and I plan to join the others as soon as possible. But for now, I need a place to hide. That’s why I humbly ask for your help. But…” She glanced at Jek and Shaeeah. “I know it would put you and your family in danger. I would understand if you refused.”

Cut cast a questioning look towards Rex; seemingly eager to know his brother’s opinion.

“Lady Bo-Katan and I met a few weeks ago,” said the captain. “It was my company that was sent to help her retake her planet from the crime syndicate that had taken control of it. She had the trust of the Jedi.”

The young Shaeeah seemed to feel the need to choose a side.

“She has a jetpack, mom…” she repeated, whining.

Suu and Cut exchanged an amused look, before turning to Bo-Katan.

“Can you work on a farm?” Suu asked.

The question took the Mandalorian by surprise.

“Well, I’ve never… I mean… I could… I could try…” she mumbled, stumbling over her words for a brief moment. “I can learn,” she finally managed to say. “I’m stronger than I look.”

“Good, then. I see no reason not to help you,” Suu said. “I’ve lived with a deserter for three years, now. We would be in danger even if it wasn’t for you.”

“Thank you,” Bo said with relief.

Suu smiled at her and stepped aside to let her in.

“Come, we’ll find you something to wear. You will never survive the summer on Saleucami with this armor.

Bo followed her inside, flanked by Jek and Shaeeah, leaving the two clones alone.

“Thanks, Cut,” said Rex.

“You’ve never turned me in,” the farmer answered. “What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t return the favor, eh?”

At the word “brother”, an expression of grief crossed Rex’s face.

“Something terrible happened, Cut.”

“I know.” He sighed. “Come inside, I think we have a lot to talk about.”


	6. Thabeska

**Part V: Thabeska**

“Here you go, little one!”

Ahsoka handed her little toy droid to the small four-years-old girl that was standing in front of her, her eyes wide open with admiration.

“Thank you,” the girl’s nanny said. “I think you made her day.”

Ahsoka stood up to be at her level.

“I’m glad I could help.”

She glanced at the girl, visibly delighted to have her doll back.

“That’s quite a sophisticated droid for a toy,” Ahsoka noted.

“Yes… Her father likes to buy her the most… unique ones.”

The woman looked down at the child with a fond smile.

“You’re a bit of a spoiled child, aren’t you?”

The girl didn’t answer, but buried herself in her nanny’s robes, still looking at Ahsoka with her large eyes.

“How much do I owe you for the toy?” asked the woman who began to search for her wallet in the small purse she was carrying.

“Oh! Nothing, if the kid’s happy, it’s all that matters.”

“I insist, you took a piece of your ship…”

That was true, and probably not Ahsoka’s best move given the recent circumstances.

“It was broken-down anyways.”

That was also true. It had not taken her long after her departure from Tahlar before realizing the ship salesman had tried to pull a fast one on her. She had landed in emergency on Thabeska, a small planet in the Outer Rim, only to see that her shuttle was unfixable.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

In truth, she could have done with some credits. But she couldn’t bring herself to charge them for a repair that had been so easy for her.

“Thank you again, then.”

The woman leaned towards the girl.

“What to we say to the young lady, Hedala?”

“Thank you,” the child whispered shyly.

“My pleasure,” Ahsoka answered with a smile.

She waved at them as the two left the shipyard and, once alone, turned to her ship. She had used an important piece to repair the little girl’s toy, but it didn’t make much of a difference; she had already lost one-third of the most essential ones during the flight. Now, the _Theta_ -class shuttle would probably not even make it to the other end of the shipyard. “Why does it keeps happening to me?” she mumbled to herself. Ahsoka sighed. Complaining wouldn’t change anything. She needed to find a job to scrape a few credits in order to buy new pieces for her ship.

She locked the shuttle and left the shipyard to head for the town. Not unlike what she remembered of Tatooine, Thabeska was a dusty and windy planet, which meant that there were not so much people out in the streets. Unwilling to stand out, Ahsoka hastened to find a place likely to have some job to offer. She set her sight on a gas station located at the end of a lane that also served as a garage. “That would be the ideal place to work,” thought Ahsoka. “I could even get some help to repair my ship.” She pushed the entrance door, and the ringing of a bell filled the small shop. A male Rodian immediately emerged from behind a row.

“Hi there, what can I do for you?”

“Hi, I’m looking for a job and I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with. I saw on your front sign that you were a mechanic…”

The Rodian kindly interrupted her.

“I’m sorry, I don’t need anyone at the moment.”

“Are you sure? I could do anything.”

His lips curved into a smile.

“You’re new on Thabeska, aren’t you?”

Ahsoka’s hand mechanically tightened on the absent hilt of her lightsaber.

“What makes you say that?”

He laughed.

“You’re too clean. Everyone here is always covered with dust.”

The young Togruta relaxed a bit.

“Plus,” the mechanic added, “you’d know who to go to for a job.”

“Who is it, then?”

He looked at her reluctantly.

“Look… You seem like a sweet girl, I don’t think Thabeska is a place for you… Why don’t you go on Jelucan? They’re building a new imperial base and they’ve come all the way here to recruit new people.”

At the thought of working for the Empire, Ahsoka almost felt sick. She’d rather die than helping those who had killed her friends, her family.

“I can’t,” she answered. “My ship is broken. I need to make some money to repair it and leave the planet.”

That wasn’t a lie.

“Well then,” sighed the Rodian, “try at the restaurant called _The Kirwa_ and ask for Bija’an.”

Ahsoka smiled.

“I’ll do that. Thanks for your help.”

He nodded and she departed the gas station.

It took her a while before finding the place. The city had not much to do with the big metropolises like the ones you could find on Coruscant or Alderaan; but still, it was large enough for a foreigner to get lost. On the bright side, it allowed her to familiarise herself with Thabeska. In the lower part of the town, the houses were small and simple but their structure seemed solid and well-grounded. “Probably to resist the wind,” thought Ahsoka. As she grew closer to the upper part, the houses became taller and more luxurious. They were all protected by electric fences whose light buzz was the only sound in the empty streets; but the energy fields were transparent enough to let the passers-by see the lush gardens and the fancy balconies decorated with exotic flowers and bronze statues. Ahsoka noted that despite the large piece of land in front of each house, their sides were almost touching. It could be useful to know, should she need to run away from Thabeska. People were never paying attention to the roofs.

As the sun was setting down, she finally reached the city center where most of the stores and service centers were located. Among them was _The Kirwa._ The restaurant was brand new and very trendy with his huge neon lights that were brightening the street. It definitively clashed with the rest of the town; or at least what she had seen of it. In front of the façade were a few tables arranged in a semicircle, but none of them were occupied and the chairs had been put upside down on the top. Ahsoka was ready to turn back, thinking the restaurant was closed; but the entrance door suddenly opened to let out two men who seemed very drunk. She began to think that the Rodian from the gas station had been right. Maybe it was not the kind of place she wanted to work in. But she had no other choice and she desperately needed money.

She pushed the front door. The inside of the restaurant was very different than the outside. Much livelier. A pleasant music was playing and the many customers were casually chatting at their table. She wondered how she could find the man called Bija’an but quickly got her answer when she noticed a particular table in the very back of the room. Strangely, all the other tables around that one were unoccupied and two massive Gamorreans were standing guard in front of it. She cautiously walked towards them and stopped in front of the guards who immediately blocked her way with their spades.

“Hi, I’m, huh… Looking for a certain Bija’an. Do you know where I could find him?” 

One of the Gamorreans grunted and a Zabrak appeared between the two guards.

“What do you want with Bija’an?”

“I’m looking for a job and I’ve been told he’s the man to see.”

Another voice came from behind the guards.

“Let her pass. I’m done eating, anyways.”

The Zabrak cast her an inquisitive look and returned to the table while the Gamorreans stepped aside.

“Thank you,” she said.

She took a few steps to get closer to the table. Sitting across the Zabrak was a good-looking man of about forty years old and behind them, two more human guards.

“So… You wanted to speak with me, huh?” Said the man seated at the table. “What can I do for you, darling?”

Much like the other humans she had seen in the area, he had tanned skin and black hair, but he seemed wealthier than the people she had come across since her arrival. His ears were pierced with small rings and he was draped in a colorful cloak made of precious fabrics. Ahsoka immediately sensed that something wasn’t right about him, but it was too late to turn back.

“I’ve just arrived here and I need a job. Someone told me you could help me,” she repeated.

Bija’an exchanged a knowing smile with the Zabrak.

“Well… I might have something for you but I’m not sure you’ll like it. Always depends on how desperate you are, I guess…”

Everybody giggled except the two Gamorreans. “You’re lucky Rex isn’t with me,” Ahsoka thought. She was perfectly able to defend herself, but her friend probably wouldn’t have shared her reluctance to jump down their throat.

“What are you, anyways?” The continued. “A Togruta? That’s not so different from a Twi’lek. Maybe even more expensive.”

He looked her in the eye with a little smirk.

“Rarity is a luxury…”

Ahsoka clenched her fists. She had heard enough.

“I see. Sorry to have bothered you, I’ll search somewhere else.”

She was about to turn tail when she heard a little voice coming from the back of the restaurant.

“Look, nursie, it’s the girl who fixed Sasa!”

Ahsoka turned, only to see the little girl she had met in the shipyard earlier that day. She didn’t seem as shy, though. The little Hedala was running towards her, waving the little droid Ahsoka had repaired in the morning; closely followed by her nanny who was trying to keep up without tripping in her long dress.

“Karoma!” Bija’an barked, suddenly unamused. “Bring the girl back upstairs! Her father doesn’t want her in the restaurant.”

“Sorry, sir. I’m trying but she’s fast.”

“Is that what you want me to tell Fardi? ‘Sorry, sir; she’s too fast’?

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Stop being sorry and catch her!”

“Yes, sir.”

She finally reached Hedala who had grabbed Ahsoka’s hand and was handing her another broken droid.

“Can you fix this one too?”

“No Hedala, she can’t,” Karoma said sharply. “Now come back with me and let the grown-ups talk.”

“But nobody has been able to fix Lila!” The little girl said tearfully. “I know _she_ can. She did it with Sasa!”

At the table, Bija’an frowned.

“You know her?” He asked Karoma, pointing in Ahsoka’s direction.

“Yes,” the nanny answered. “We’ve met her in mister Fardi’s shipyard this morning. She repaired Hedala’s doll.”

Bija’an turned to Ahsoka, all traces of amusement wiped from his face.

“Is that true?”

“Yes”

“Impressive. When she broke the first one, we’ve searched the whole town to find somebody who would be able to fix it. Nobody could, so her father bought her a new one.”

He thought for a minute.

“Maybe I have a job for you, after all. What’s your name, again?”

“A… Ashla.”

“Alright, Ahsla, just… stick around for a bit, would you? I’ll talk to my boss.”

“Thank you.” The words were almost physically painful to say. “How will I know if I’m hired?”

“We’ll find you, don’t worry,” he said with a little grin. “Nobody wanders on Thabeska without Fardi knowing.”


	7. A New Life

**Part VI: A New Life**

Rex leaned on his hands against the wall and let the water run down his tilted head. The warm stream gently rinsed away the last traces of hair dye, before flowing along his neck and all the way through his back. It felt good. He would have to thank Suu for the hair dye. When entering the bathroom earlier that morning, he had found a small bottle of _Wonderfully Blond_ on the countertop with his name written on it. Judging by the neat letters, he had come to the conclusion that the gift was from Suu. None of his brothers could write so well.

Now that the dye was all gone, he opened his eyes and looked at the clock above the shower. After their arrival, Cut had told Rex and Bo-Katan to restrict their shower time to ten minutes in order to save water. Compared to what the young captain was used to, ten minutes seemed like a luxury. And yet, he had kept postponing the moment he would have to get out of the shower. He knew nobody would be waiting for him on the other side of the door and he feared the moment he would have to face it. Appo wouldn’t be standing there with the list of all the things he would have to go through before beginning his day. He wouldn’t have to make his rounds: going to the shinnies’ barracks to encourage them, visiting Kix in the med bay, listening to the night team’s report in the briefing room… Then, he wouldn’t have to make his way to the bridge only to be intercepted by Skywalker around a corner, who would explain at great length his last not-so-good plan to hear his captain’s opinion…

That would never happen again; he had to come to terms with it. But it wasn’t easy…

He thought about Ahsoka; wondering where she was in the galaxy and if she shared his struggles. Every day since her departure, he had woken up with the fear of seeing her face on the news, under the headline announcing a new Jedi capture. Rex gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He had no more tears to cry, only a great void he didn’t know how to fill.

He sighed. His ten minutes were coming to an end. He turned off the water stream and got out the shower — careful not to damp the floor too much — then extended a hand to reach the towel resting on the rack. He quickly dried his body before wrapping the bath sheet around his waist. A quick glance at the mirror reminded him he needed a shave. Now that he had left the army, he didn’t _need_ to shave anymore (kriff, he could have general Kenobi’s beard and Skywalker’s long hair if he wanted), but that would mean admitting that the life he had always known was definitively over. And he was not yet ready for that.

A few minutes later he was out of the bathroom, cleaned and shaved. Just as he had expected, nobody was on the other side of the door, but the house wasn’t completely quiet either. Children’s voices were coming from the floor below; a mix of laughter and high-pitched screams that helped him forget about his absent brothers. Rex decided to join the fun.

He had just arrived in the dining room when a piece of bread flew in his direction, barely missing his face.

“Force! This house is more dangerous than a Separatist ship…” he said entering the room.

“Oh!” Shaeeah exclaimed. “Sorry, uncle Rex! I was aiming at Jek.”

“Good morning!” her brother said as if nothing had happened.

Rex smiled at them, both to greet Jek and reassure Shaeeah, then visually scanned the rest of the room. Suu was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear the sound of someone cutting fruits and vegetables in the room next door. Besides the children who had resumed their food fight, Bo-Katan was the only person around the table.

“Good morning,” she said, raising her head to look at him.

It was the first time he’d seen her dressed in normal clothes. Without her armor and headband, she seemed like a totally different person; much less intimidating, almost… friendly. She looked slightly uneasy, though. He could understand; without his own gear, he felt completely naked.

“Hi,” he replied. “Do you know if Cut is awake?”

“Suu told me he left early this morning to go to the doctor.”

“Right,” he said, sitting in the empty chair next to her.

Rex had told Cut about the chip the night before, as soon as the Lawquanes had welcomed them into their house. His brother had been horrified and only Suu’s intervention had prevented him to open his own head to remove the chip by himself. She had then mentioned a doctor on Ryloth who used to secretly patch up Cham Syndulla’s rebels who couldn’t go to the hospital and Cut had decided to go looking for him first thing in the morning.

“I knew I had heard your voice.”

Suu’s head appeared in the kitchen’s doorway.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Better than the last few days,” Rex answered. “Oh, and thanks for the hair dye, you didn’t have to…”

She smiled.

“You’re welcome. Cut told me how important distinguishing marks are to the clones. Is it the right color?”

“It’s perfect, Suu. Thank you.”

She smiled again and returned to her kitchen.

Rex’s gaze then fell upon the carpet under the table and the toys strewn all over the floor. He couldn’t remember a time when the floor he was walking on had not been immaculately clean. It was certainly not aboard a Jedi Cruiser (let alone on Kamino) that he would have smelled the pleasant scent of warm bread and marmalade that was slowly escaping the kitchen to fill the air of the dining room. The young clone glanced towards the children, but neither Jek nor Shaeeah was paying attention to their mother’s cooking. In every way, the scene taking place in front of him was an ordinary morning; the kind that many families across the galaxy were used to experience every day. But to Rex, it seemed… surreal. If somebody had told him only a few weeks ago that he would soon make his first experience of civilian and family life, he would have laughed. He had always known only two types of morning: the ones in the mess with his brothers or the ones on the battlefield. There had never been so much variations.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Rex cleared his throat.

“Can we help you with something Suu?”

“Oh no! Bo-Katan already offered her help, but I’m fine. We can’t pay you for your help, so the least I can do is making sure you have a good breakfast.”

She emerged from the kitchen with two plates full of fruits and bread and put them in front of Rex and Bo-Katan.

“Oh! It’s… huh…” the Mandalorian began, her eyes wide open. “I mean, thank you, it… It looks very good.”

“My pleasure!” the Twi’lek answered with a broad grin.

Bo and Rex exchanged a glance. None of them had eaten such a good meal since… Well, it’s been too long. Rex could have easily devoured the whole things in less than a minute but he tried to restrain himself. Being a soldier didn’t mean he didn’t have manners. He took a first bite of bread and his shoulders immediately drooped. Ohhhh that was good. Much better than anything he had ever eaten. He looked at his plate again. How could that be only flour and water? He then took some of the marmalade. Force… That was even better. How could she do that? He was so focused on his meal that he barely heard Bo-Katan asking if she could turn the radio on (nothing unusual; she had been trying to get her hands on every available information about the situation on Mandalore since she had left her planet). Rex spread the marmalade on the toast, eager to taste the magic that would result from their combination, but then…

_“… live from Naboo where the funeral of Senator Padmé Amidala…”_

Rex froze.

The reporter on the radio went on. _“…the procession took place in the capital city of Theed where thousand of people came to pay their last respects to the beloved senator and former queen of Naboo. Amidala leaves behind an important political legacy as well as an unidentified spouse, father of the child she was bearing.”_

The last words echoed in Rex’s head. “Father of the child she was bearing.” He wasn’t hungry anymore. On his side, Bo-Katan noticed his tension and her hand immediately went to the blaster she was still carrying at her hip.

“What is it?” She asked, all senses alert.

“It’s nothing. Just… the news.”

She relaxed a bit and lent an ear.

“You knew her?”

“Yeah…” he said with a sigh. “She was… the friend of a friend…”

**********

_Rex twisted in his clothes, uncomfortable. They were nothing close to fancy robes — a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of cargo pants — but still, it was not his armor and that was enough to make him feel out of his comfort zone._

_“Don’t you have any idea why she wanted to see_ me _?” Rex asked Skywalker._

_They were both in the elevator that led to Senator Padmé Amidala’s private apartment._

_“No, she didn’t say anything.” His general frowned like it was something unusual._

_Rex glanced at the panel indicating the floor they had reached. Why would a politician like her ever want to talk with a soldier like him? That didn’t make sense and Rex didn’t like when things didn’t make sense. And kriff, why did that shirt had to itch so much? He would have preferred to wear his armor but Skywalker had been very clear when he had told him about the invitation: that was an informal dinner, no need to come with his gear. But by now, Rex knew his general well enough to recognize his tone and understand that by “no need”, he meant “don’t”._

_The elevator came to a halt with a ring and the door swung open into a circular room that itself led to a long living room flanked by a row of large windows on each side. A woman covered with a pink cowl was busy displaying glasses on a small table in the middle of the lounge. She didn’t seem to have noticed their presence._

_“Hello, Teckla,” Skywalker said._

_The poor woman jumped._

_“General Skywalker! Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”_

_“Not to worry, Teckla. Is the senator here?”_

_“Of course.” She turned to another room Rex and Anakin couldn’t see from their position. “My lady, your guests have arrived!”_

_A second woman appeared in the living room._

_“General Skywalker, Captain Rex, welcome!” Padmé Amidala greeted them as she was walking in their direction. “Teckla, you can take your night off,” she kindly added for her handmaiden._

_“Are you sure, my lady?”_

_“Yes. I am confident that if something was to happen, these two gentlemen here would be more than able to help me.”_

_Teckla bowed and quietly left the apartment. Her handmaiden gone; Amidala smiled at Rex._

_“I’m glad you came, Captain. I must admit I wasn’t sure you would.”_

_As a matter of fact, he_ had _tried to convince Skywalker that coming to this dinner with him was a bad idea. But his general had refused to listen to reason._

_“Thank you for the invitation, ma’am,” simply said the young clone._

_“The pleasure is mine, Captain. I’ve heard about you for months, now, but we’ve never properly met.”_

_“Oh, err… Thank you?”_

_The general came to his rescue._

_“You look ravishing, Senator. It’s a pleasure to be here with you tonight.”_

_Rex raised a brow._

_“Thank you, general Skywalker. The feeling is mutual; it’s been far too long since we last saw each other.”_

_She had made a step in his direction and Skywalker’s head was beginning to lean towards hers. Rex coughed._

_“Right,” said Amidala, turning her head away. “Please, don’t stand in the doorway, Teckla prepared exquisite cocktails for us.”_

_**********_

_Rex put down his fork._

_“That’s very good, Senator.”_

_“Thank you. I figured you didn’t get much chance to eat five-blossom bread on the battlefield.”_

_“Indeed,” Skywalker answered, finishing his second helping._

_Rex didn’t need the Force to sense how relaxed his general was around Amidala. He had noticed how familiar Skywalker was with the apartment; how he knew where every room was. The senator had said they had not seen each other for a while, but both of them were acting like they had talked only the day before. Rex had been surprised to see that Amidala knew all about their last mission even tough it has been only two days since they were back on Coruscant. In his defense, Skywalker was not the only one the senator had managed to put at ease. She had proved to be an excellent host and in a matter of minutes, Rex had begun to feel more comfortable in her presence._

_Amidala took a sip of her wine and made a more serious face._

_“Captain, if I invited you tonight, it’s not only to give you a taste of Naboo’s traditional cuisine. I need your help with something.”_

_“My…_ help _, Senator?”_

_‘Yes, don’t act so surprised,” she answered with a smile._

_“I’m sorry but I’m just a soldier. I don’t see how I could possibly…”_

_Amidala shook her head._

_“Indeed, but wouldn’t it be a little reductive to say that it’s what you ‘just’ are? I think you’re an intelligent man, Captain, and I would like to hear what you have to say about the bill I’m currently working on.”_

_Rex glanced at his general in the hope of getting some kind of help, but instead, Skywalker gave him a little encouraging nod._

_“Alright, then. What can I do for you, Senator?”_

_She smiled._

_“Thank you, Captain. You see, the Senator Organa and I are working on a bill that would recognize the clones as full citizens of the Republic.”_

_Rex looked at her in astonishment. She was serious. Something inside of him stirred; he didn’t know what to think about her project, but knowing that someone in the senate was working for his brothers’ rights moved him more than he would have thought. She didn’t seem to notice his emotion, however, as she continued to talk._

_“Unfortunately, I’m afraid the senate would never adopt such a motion before the end of the war. They fear that setting you free would lead you to desert the army, which would cause the defeat of the Republic.”_

_“That would never happen, Senator!” Rex exclaimed, outraged that some people would think such a thing. “We, clones, are loyal to the Republic. That’s why we were bred for!”_

_“I don’t doubt your loyalty, Captain. But someday, this war will end and you will have to start a new life. We just want to make sure that when this day comes, you’ll no longer be… chained to your duty.”_

_He wasn’t sure to like her choice of words but he knew she had a point. The war wouldn’t last forever and sooner or later, his brothers and he would have to learn how to live a normal life. And that was not the kind of thing you could improvise. They needed to start thinking about it now._

_The conversation went on. Padme was a respectful and attentive listener who only interrupted him to ask for clarifications. As the evening progressed, Rex began to increasingly enjoy the debate. So, when the dinner finally came to an end, he found himself a bit disappointed. Padmé walked them to the door, her cheeks slightly pink because of the wine but apparently satisfied with their conversation._

_“Thanks again for the night, Senator,” Rex said in front of the elevator._

_“I should be the one thanking you, Captain. For your help tonight…” She turned to look at Skywalker. “And for looking after my friend everyday.”_

_The young Jedi smiled fondly at the senator._

_“Have a good night, my lady.”_

_“You too, General Skywalker.”_

_It looked as though she was about to add something, but the elevator doors opened with a ring. The two men said goodbye to their host one last time and disappeared into the small lift cage. They remained silent for a moment before Skywalker finally decided to speak._

_“Rex, I…”_

_“I won’t tell anyone, sir. I promise.”_

_His general seemed relieved._

_“Thank you, Rex.”_


	8. The Fardi Clan

**Part VII: The Fardi Clan**

_Ahsoka was walking in the large hallway, mouth opened and eyes starring wide._

_“That’s awesome! Why has master Yoda never brought us here? That part is so much more interesting than the great hall we see during the guided tours.”_

_The senate hallway was full of people from all around the galaxy. Twi’leks, Rodians, Pantorans, Neimoidians, Duros and even some species she couldn’t even identify — was that really a Kaminoan? Sure, the Jedi Temple was also a very diverse place, but the children were brought in too young to remember any of their native traditions. Furthermore, the Jedi tended to encourage conformity and adherence to their beliefs rather than value the cultural differences of their members. The senate however, was a whole different world. The people working there had brought their customs with them when coming to Coruscant, and the representative role the senators were supposed to play only seemed to enhance the display of their cultural differences. This demonstration gave Ahsoka the impression that she was in the center of the universe; in a place of power where history was being made._

_“Yeah, well… Don’t get too excited,” her master answered on her side. “The Senate remains a place where politicians come to seek the resources that will serve their best interests.”_

_“I thought the friend we’re going to see was a politician?”_

_“Yes. But she’s… different.”_

_Ahsoka rolled her eyes with a smile._

_“Of course, she is.”_

_It’s been only a few weeks since she had officially been assigned to her master but she was beginning to know his black-or-white way to see the world; a vision that was rarely shaken, even when Anakin had to face his own contradictions._

_Anakin stopped in front of a door and opened it with a wave of the hand. Above it, a small screen showed that they were standing before the Naboo box._

_“Are we allowed to do that?” Ahsoka asked._

_“Do what?”_

_“Enter just like that. Isn’t this box reserved for the Naboo delegation?”_

_He shrugged._

_“I don’t know. I’ve done it a million times; it never bothered anyone.”_

_Before she could add anything, he stepped into the box._

_“When you put it that way…” she muttered before following him._

_From inside the box, the view of the rotunda was most impressive. Ahsoka had seen it before, of course, but always during the guided tours they used to do with her class, back when she was still a youngling. The rotunda was then empty, apart from a few maintenance workers and the only person speaking was master Yoda, who would explain the course of a senatorial session. But now, as the hemicycle was crowded, it seemed like a totally different place._

_A senator was speaking. Ahsoka could only see her back from where she was standing, but her face was projected on a wide screen across the hemicycle. The speaker was a young woman dressed in a long blue and golden gown with an intricate headdress. Although she was undoubtedly pretty, it was not what struck Ahsoka. Despite her obvious young age, the senator was speaking confidently with the assurance of somebody who sincerely believed in what she was saying. And that made her truly stunning._

_“She’s beautiful…” Ahsoka whispered._

_“I know,” her master replied absently._

_Only then did Ahsoka notice that the box where they were standing was empty and that its platform was disconnected from the wall, which meant the speaker could only be the senator from Naboo; Anakin’s friend. Her speech finally came to an end and as the large room erupted in a chorus of cheers and applause, the young senator, standing on her platform, slowly hovered towards the two Jedi._

_“General Skywalker,” she greeted Anakin. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”_

_“We were just passing by and I thought we’d come to say hi.”_

_“Of course.”_

_She turned to Ahsoka with a warm smile._

_“You must be Anakin’s new padawan. I was eager to meet you…”_

_“Ashla?”_

The voice snapped Ahsoka out of her memories.

“Ashla, isn’t?” the girl repeated.

The news of Padmé’s death had shaken Ahsoka so much that, for a split second, she thought her friend was once again standing before her.

“Yes. It’s me.”

She studied the girl who had spoken. She was wearing the same kind of elegant clothes and fancy jewels as Padmé, but the similarity between the two ended there. The woman facing her was younger than the senator of Naboo but slightly older than Ahsoka. She had dark hair and skin as well as an aquiline nose and full lips that couldn’t be mistaken for Padmé’s features. She spoke again.

“Welcome to Thabeska, Ahsla. I’m Makala Fardi. I come on behalf of my father who wishes to speak with you. If… you still want to work for him, of course.”

“Yes. I was waiting for him to contact me.”

The girl smiled.

“Then if you will follow me…”

Makala led her across the street, away from the newsstand where Ahsoka had learned of Padmé Amidala’s death. The crimson dress of the Fardi girl clashed with the beige of the street and attracted many eyes, which didn’t please Ahsoka who wished to remain unnoticed as much as she could. “Not too soon,” thought the Togruta when they finally reached a speeder parked in front of a jewellery. A man was smoking in front of the window. Makala gave him a small nod and he immediately crushed his cigarette under his foot before hurrying inside the shop. “We’re being watched, then,” noticed Ahsoka for herself. “Or rather, _I_ am being watched.” She took place on the back seat of the speeder next to Makala and the driver started the vehicle.

“So… Where are you from, Ashla? If you don’t mind me asking,” Makala said, once they were on their way to Fardi’s house — or whatever place she was taking Ahsoka to.

“Coruscant,” Ahsoka replied.

Any good lie had to include some kind of truth.

“Really? Which part exactly? Father have some friends who live on the sector…”

“I don’t really know anyone there anymore,” Ahsoka interrupted her. “I’m an orphan. I was raised within a… foster home. But now I’m old enough to live on my own and… all my friends are gone, so…”

She hoped Makala had not noticed the tremor in her voice at the end of her sentence.

“Well, Thabeska is not as busy as Coruscant, but if you’re looking for a good job and nice people, it’s a place for you. Sometimes it’s nice not to be away from the noise of big cities.”

“Yeah…” Ahsoka answered. “That’s exactly what I’m after.”

The speeder stopped in the upscale neighborhood Ahsoka had visited during her first day on Thabeska. The driver used his comlink to called someone and a few seconds later, the electric fence surrounding one of the houses went off, allowing the speeder to enter the estate. Ahsoka looked around her in disbelief. The house exceeded her expectations in terms of luxury. If there was anything left from her Jedi background, it was certainly her inability to understand why people needed so much possessions. She followed Makala through the gardens in the backyard where red trees from Anaxes stood alongside colorful Felucian ferns and delicate nightblossoms. Ahsoka could feel how strong the Force was in that place. So many plants were living there; fighting against one another, trying to reproduce, seeking the sunlight to grow… The garden was not peaceful as most people tended to think plants were, but full of life; in harmony with both the light and the dark side of the Force.

“Ahsla!”

Ahsoka looked away from the plants to see Hedala running in her direction. She was closely followed by a group of girls between five and fifteen years old, all with the same brown skin and black hair than Makala.

“I believe you already met my sister Hedala,” Mekala said with a fond smile.

“Huh, yes…” Ahsoka answered, slightly taken aback by the excitement demonstrated by the group of girls. Obviously, they didn’t get to meet strangers very often.

“She hasn’t stop talking about you since you fixed her droid. I think she’s one of the reasons my father decided to see you.”

Ahsoka looked down at Hedala.

“Looks like I owe you one, little one.”

“Right,” Makala said, her voice suddenly sharp.

She was gazing at something behind Ahsoka. All of a sudden, the pleasant and joyful girl that had welcomed her was gone.

“My father will meet you, soon. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ahsla.”

And without another word, she quickly left the gardens. Ahsoka turned around to see what had caused her to leave so fast. Bija’an was walking towards her, escorted by the two human guards she had seen at _The Kirwa_ just a few days earlier.

“Girls, why don’t you go back to your dolls?” Bija’an said to the group of children. “Miss Ahsla and I have important things to talk about.”

The Fardi girls walked away with a few disappointed groans as Bija’an stopped in front of Ahsoka.

“I see Makala found you…” he said with a smirk.

“I suspect you knew perfectly well where I was, even before she came to see me.”

“Isn’t it what I told you the first time we met?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “Come, now. My boss doesn’t like to wait.”

Bija’an took her to the house, in what seemed to be a vast lounge. The room was entirely painted in white with multiple painting hanging on the wall. There was no door leading to other rooms, but instead, large stone arches that made the lounge seems even bigger than it already was. In the middle of the room were long, richly decorated couches arranged in a square. Aside from the guards that were standing around the couches, only one man was already in the room; seated on the couch, right in front of Ahsoka.

“Ah… The young prodigy. Please, take a seat.”

Ahsoka did as he said. Fardi was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a short beard that reminded her of Fives’, except Fardi also wore a mustache.

“Bija’an here told me you were looking for a job.”

“I do, sir.”

“As a mechanic?”

“As anything. My ship is broken, so I can’t leave the planet before I’ve bought the missing pieces.”

“The pieces you used to repair my daughter’s droid…”

“Yes,” Ahsoka said, blushing.

“Well… I have to thank you for that. This whole house certainly remembers the day she broke it.”

The men in the room chuckled.

“Anyways,” Fardi said. “I sent someone to check your ship while my daughter was bringing you here.”

Ahsoka raised a brow.

“I don’t think you could fly that thing again, even if you’d replace all the ship parts. It would be dishonest for me to hire you knowing you’ll never be able to repair it no matter how much money I give you. So, here’s my proposition: some parts of your _Theta_ shuttle are made of durasteel, whose trading is strictly controlled. I offer you to buy your ship. You’ll have enough money to buy a new one and depart from Thabeska, and I’ll have my durasteel…”

Ahsoka opened her mouth to accept but Fardi wasn’t done.

“ _But_ … I happen to need a new mechanic and you seems to be… qualified for the job, to say the least. So, if you want to settle for a bit, I’d be happy to hire you.”

The young Togruta remained silent for a moment, thinking about the unexpected offer. She had not planned to stay on Thabeska, let alone settle somewhere. But Thabeska had turn out to be a peaceful and remote planet in which the Empire didn’t seem to have taken any interest. In addition, she was beginning to suspect the Fardis to run more than just a few legal businesses, which meant they had just as much interest as she had to avoid drawing attention from the authorities. Plus, she couldn’t remember the last time she had slept in a real bed and that fact alone made Fardi’s proposition difficult to refuse.

“I… I accept,” Ahsoka said.

“Excellent!” Fardi exclaimed, joining his hands. “My daughters will show you your new house. Welcome to Thabeska, Ashla.”


	9. The Plan

**Part VIII: The Plan**

“There you go, Rex,” said Cut, handing him a large bucket. “Now your turn.”

Rex grunted.

“Why do I feel like you have way too much fun giving me this task?”

Cut burst into laughter.

“The first time I milked an eopie, I thought about my superiors and how much I would have paid to see them in my shoes. Sorry it fell on you, brother, but I couldn’t resist the idea of having a real officer try.”

Rex took the bucket and Cut gave him a slap on the back before leaving the barn, not without a last giggle.

The young captain watched as his brother was walking away. He was glad he had found him. The trauma caused by the recent events added to the adjustment to civilian life had made the first weeks at the farm difficult. Apart from some small talk, neither Bo-Katan or Rex had talked much, preferring to dedicate themselves to the work on the farm. In a way, they were both very similar; two warriors who thought they had failed their brothers and sisters, causing them an indescribable pain. War was everything they had ever known but now, it was becoming meaningless. It was something they both shared and understood, and the two of them respected the other’s silence. The children however, did not trouble themselves with such consideration. They were so happy to see new faces that they never missed an occasion to spend time with Rex or Bo-Katan. At first, it had been a bit irritating, but they had eventually grown used to it and even became fond of the moments spent with Jek and Shaeeah. Just the week before, Bo-Katan had tried to teach some self-defence techniques to the Twi’lek girl. Shaeeah had proven to be an excellent student, until she decided — to the great displeasure of Suu — to practise with her little brother. Bo had been forced to put an end to the lessons but Rex and Cut had laughed about it for days. The cheerfulness of the family — and especially the children — was contagious, and helped the two newcomers to cope a little better with their ghosts. In truth, Rex didn’t know what he would’ve become without the Lawquanes.

“Right,” thought Rex. “It can’t be _that_ hard.” He glanced at the eopie — Margaret, according to Cut — and sighed. He could have sworn the animal had just cast him a murderous look. He sat down on the small stool next to the beast. “Gentle but firm,” Cut had said. “Got it.” He extended a hand to grab the eopie’s teat. It was warm and slimy; much more than what he had expected. Disgusted, he quickly removed his hand, but Margaret didn’t seem to appreciate the sudden gesture as she kicked the bucket with her back leg, forcing Rex to move aside to avoid getting hit by the eopie. “You’re not going to make this any easier for me, huh?” he said to Margaret. He rose up from his stool to pick up the bucket and tried again. This time, he was prepared for the texture of the teat, and with a grimace, he began to draw milk from the eopie. For a split second he thought he had succeeded, but realized too late he had not aimed the teat properly and found himself covered in warm milk. Rex abruptly dropped the teat with a growl.

“Kriffing hell…”

“Cut will have a good laugh, no doubt,” he thought, too annoyed by the situation to hear the door of the barn open.

“There you a…” began someone behind him.

Rex turned around to see Bo-Katan standing in the doorway.

“What on Malachor are you doing?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He stood up.

“I… err… I was trying to milk that _thing_.”

The ‘thing’ emitted an angry mooing.

“I see…” the Mandalorian said with a smirk. “Obviously, the key word here is ‘trying’…”

“Very funny,” Rex replied, crossing his arms. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Thanks for the offer, but that’s not why I’m here.”

She stepped into the barn and sat down on a hay bale.

“I need your help with something.”

“Alright. Let me just finish this and…”

“Not something on the farm.”

He frowned and cast her a questioning look.

“Oh…”

Her face became serious and she sighed.

“I was listening to the news this morning and… It appears the Empire had spotted a group of Mandalorians nationalists in the Kathol sector.”

She was clearly trying to contain her agitation.

“Korkie may be among them; I have to make contact with the group.”

“And what are you waiting for?”

“Well, here’s the thing: I don’t know where _exactly_ in the Kathol sector they are. The news didn’t say so. That’s why I need your help.”

“I’m sorry, but… I don’t really see what I could do…”

“I’m getting there. The guy on the radio said something else: the Empire is building a new base on Abridon.”

She took a small pause as if she was trying to anticipate his reaction.

“That’s not so far from here, so I thought…”

He understood right away what she was trying to say.

“You want to break into an imperial base?!”

“I know it sounds risky, but it’s the only way for me to learn what the Empire knows about the group, including their location. Without it, I can’t establish contacts with them.”

“It’s suicide!”

“Maybe if I’m going alone, but…”

“Oh no, no, no! Don’t count on me to help you with that.”

“Wait! At least hear me out…”

“No. Ahsoka took upon herself to travel alone to give us a chance to survive. I’m not willing to ruin her sacrifice by walking straight into the lion’s den.”

“But there is no reason for any of us to get caught if you come with me! You know all the codes used by the army, how you brothers think…”

“No,” he said sharply. “Not anymore.”

He grabbed his empty bucket and walked towards the door of the barn. The debate was over.

“You could check your brothers’ files,” she said behind him.

Rex stopped.

“Don’t you want to know what they’ve become?” she added. “Don’t you care?”

He opened his mouth to say something but changed his mind at the last second and walked out the door without another word.

He couldn’t sleep that night. Partly because of the clinking caused by Bo-Katan in the room next to his, who was preparing her armor to raid the imperial base, and partly because of her last words in the barn. How could she dare suggest he didn’t care about the fate of his brothers? Not a single day had passed without him thinking about them or Ahsoka. Some days, he would worry about them so much that it would feel almost physically sick. But he couldn’t risk Ahsoka’s life, nor those of Cut and his family. It didn’t matter that he was on his own now; what he had learned on Kamino still prevailed: the group mattered more than the individual. Rex couldn’t allow his own preoccupations to threaten the lives of others, and he would do everything in his power to protect the Lawquanes and Ahsoka just as he had once done for his fellow troopers. And if he wasn’t looking for his lost brothers it was not because he was running away from the truth. On the contrary, it was because deep down, he knew what they had become. But Bo’s words were still resonating within his head. _“Don’t you want to know what they’ve become? Don’t you care?”_ Of course, he did.

“Blast it!”

He got out of bed and walked to Bo-Katan’s room. A glimmer of light was coming from the half-open door. Rex briefly knocked on the wood panel and the noise inside the room stopped.

“Yes?” Bo-Katan’s voice said.

He peeked his head in.

“Don’t bother to prepare your gear.”

She looked at him, baffled.

“What?”

“You won’t need it,” he said grumpily. “I have a plan. We leave first thing tomorrow morning.”


	10. Visions

**Part IX: Visions**

Night had fallen and Ahsoka was standing alone in the center of Fardi’s gardens. All around her, the once beautiful plants were slowly dying. It was subtle, unnoticeable, if you didn’t look closely. But Ahsoka could sense the Living Force slowly leaving them. She bent over a flowering bush and extended a hand towards the delicate petals covering it, but before she could touch it, a woman’s scream pierced the night. Ahsoka immediately straightened up. She couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. Another one filled the air, even more distressed this time. She was beginning to panic, desperately looking for the source of the scream. And when a third shriek reached her ears, Ahsoka woke up.

She sat down on her mattress and turned on the light. She had made the same dream again. For a little more than a month now, she had been dreaming about the scream in Fardi’s gardens. The dream was too persistent to be ignored but, she couldn’t make sense of it. Not so long ago, she would have gone to Master Yoda for guidance, in the hope that he could help her interpret the vision but now… She had to figure it out by herself. She glanced at the small clock beside her mattress; it was already 0500. In less than an hour she would have to leave for work which meant that getting back to sleep would be useless. The best she could do was to meditate in order to find the answers she was looking for. She tried to calm down and reach to the Force, but it didn’t do much; the memory of the voice kept haunting her until dawn.

When she finally left her small house, the sky was still beautifully orange, but Thabeska was already beginning to come back to life. Shops were starting to open their gates and workers were washing the sand off their speeders before heading for their job. Ahsoka took the direction of Fardi’s shipyard where she had been working since her employment. She was mainly doing small repairs, but once in a while, Bija’an would come in person, asking for some modifications on a ship. Make the engines more powerful or add a secret trunk under the floor; nothing Anakin had not taught her. Ahsoka wasn’t naive though. She knew those ships were used for smuggling, but she didn’t ask questions. It was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

Fardi’s shipyard was located on the edge of town, halfway between the city and a big desert plain. Although the view wasn’t extraordinary, it provided Ahsoka some kind of peace and helped her focus on her work. She wrapped her scarf around her face to protect herself from the sand flying around and put on a pair of goggles before sliding under a first ship to begin her day.

It was almost noon when the Fardi girls showed up at the shipyard. They had developed the habit to visit her everyday in the morning and usually stayed with her as long as they could. Ahsoka looked at the chrono at her wrist; they were late.

“Good morning girls,” Ahsoka said, without taking her eyes off the engine she was fixing. “Somebody has been sleeping in, I see.”

“Not really,” one of them replied. “Chenna,” Ahsoka remembered. “But we’ve wasted time trying to make Hedala leave the house. She’s been crying since we woke up and…”

Ahsoka emerged from under the ship and put her goggles on her forehead. That was unusual. Hedala had taken a special interest in Ahsoka since day one, and the young Togruta was certain only something serious would prevent the girl to come and see her. Besides, despite being the youngest girl of the clan, Hedala was surprisingly mature for her age. Ahsoka had never seen her cry. There was definitively something wrong going on.

“What happened? Why didn’t she want to leave the house?”

“She said she had a bad dream,” Chenna answered. “She said something about someone screaming or something like that. Scared her real good.”

A chill ran down Ahsoka’s spine. A dream about someone screaming? That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Where is she, now?” She asked the girls, trying to hide her concern.

“At home.”

“Alone?”

“No, Makala was still there when we left the house.”

Ahsoka had to think fast.

“Alright, I want you to wait here. I’ll tell the keeper to call your nannies.”

“But…”

“And don’t follow me!”

“Why? What’s happening?”

“Nothing,” Ahsoka lied. “I have work to do elsewhere.”

“And we can’t come with you?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

They let out a few disappointed sighs, but Ahsoka was too worried about Hedala to feel bad. She quickly left the shipyard, notifying the keeper about the girls on the way.

When she arrived at Fardi’s house, the place was unusually quiet. Many families were living there but it seemed like everybody had gone out that morning. She headed straight to the gardens; certain it would be the place where she would find Hedala. And sure enough, the little girl was there, sitting on the ground at the exact same spot where Ahsoka had stood during her dream.

“Hedala!” She ran to the child and knelt in front of her. “Are you okay?”

The girl looked terrified.

“I don’t want to hear her cry again…”

Her? Ahsoka looked around. They were alone. She called upon the Force to scan their surroundings. She couldn’t detect the presence of anyone else in the gardens.

“Come, Hedala. We’ll go somewhere else and you’ll be able to tell me about your dream.”

“It was not a dream!” The little girl protested.

As soon the words escaped her mouth, a scream resounded in the gardens. The scream of Ahsoka’s dream. Hedala covered her ears with her hands.

“No, no, no…”

It took a moment for Ahsoka to understand that the little girl wasn’t the one screaming. “Makala!”

“Hedala, stay here!” She shouted before running towards the house.

She took the stairs two at a time, using the Force to run faster. Ahsoka finally reached Makala’s bedroom on the second floor and flung the door open. She was obviously interrupting something. Makala was pinned against the wall, crying. Against her was Bija’an, one hand around her throat and the other under her dress. Ahsoka didn’t hesitate. She crossed the room as fast as she could and threw herself against Bija’an, shoving him to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Ahsoka saw Makala gather her ripped dress against her naked breasts and collapse on the floor. The young Togruta knelt besides her.

“Are you okay?”

Makala didn’t answer, still in shock.

“You _schutta_ ,” Bija’an said, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll have your…”

Ahsoka rose up and pressed her foot against his chest to keep him on the ground.

“You may want to withdraw the insult.”

He was about to answer when they suddenly heard noises coming from the street outside. Ahsoka recognized the voices of many Fardi girls and their nannies who were coming back to the house. She turned to Bija’an.

“I think you’re about to regret what you’ve just done.”

**********

Ahsoka briefly closed her eyes as Fardi broke a vase against the wall with a cry of rage.

“Do not touch him! I want to take care of him myself!”

“Yes, boss,” a guard replied before leaving the room with one of his colleagues.

Hedala squeezed Ahsoka’s hand. “Her father’s anger is scarring her,” the Togruta realised. She sent a wave of reassurance through the Force and Hedala relaxed a little bit, although not quickly enough for Ahsoka to be the only one to notice the girl’s fear. Fardi’s gaze met his daughter’s. With a sigh, he finally calmed down and crouched down in front of Hedala.

“It’s over, honey. Everything will be fine, okay?”

Hedala nodded.

“Come,” Fardi said, opening his arms.

Hedala released Ahsoka’s hand to hug her father. In his arms, she looked even smaller.

“Now, go with Karoma, would you? Ahsla and I have other things to talk about.”

“Come with me, Hedala,” the nanny said, extending an arm.

The girl grabbed her nanny’s outstretched hand and the two of them left the room. Except for two remaining guards, Ahsoka was now alone with Fardi.

“So… Tell me again how you found out,” the man asked.

“When the girls came in the shipyard this morning, they told me Hedala wasn’t feeling well. So, I came back to the house to check on her and…”

“Why didn’t you call someone?”

“I… I didn’t…” She had not anticipated the question.

“Forget it,” Fardi said. “It doesn’t matter. Go on.”

“So, huh… I found Hedala in the gardens; she was safe and sound. That’s when we heard someone screaming. I ran upstairs and I saw… Well… Bija’an was there with Makala and…” She wasn’t sure how to describe the scene to Makala’s father.

“I get the picture,” he said, closing his eyes.

Ahsoka saw his fists clench. Fardi remained silent for a moment before he spoke again.

“I have a new job for you. From now on, I want you to become my daughter’s shadow. You will follow her wherever she goes. And I want you to tell me about everyone she speaks to.”

“You… You want me to spy on her?”

“I want you to protect her,” he corrected her. “Become her friend if you must, but I don’t want her alone.”

Ahsoka looked down. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this new assignment.

“Look,” Fardi said. “When you first came into this room, you told me you were ready to do any job and that’s why I’m asking you do to today. Plus, something is telling me you can’t really have a normal job.”

Ahsoka tensed up.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “You’ve never asked questions about our activities so I will return the favor. But I don’t think you’re in a position to refuse my request, am I wrong?”

She sighed. He was right.

“But why me? Any of your guards could do it.”

“I don’t trust any of my men with her anymore. Plus, you are the one who saved her, what’s more, out of the goodness of your heart. And I know you would do it again.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Ahsoka finally said.

That, she could promise.

“Good.”

His tone indicated it was time for her to leave, but Ahsoka didn’t move, wondering whether or not she should tell him about Hedala’s dreams.

“Is there something else?”

After all, there was a possibility that Hedala had heard her sister with Bija’an before and, out of incomprehension, thought she was having a bad dream. But if that wasn’t the case, that would mean…

“No, sir. I’ll leave right now.”

That would mean the little girl was Force-sensitive.


	11. So Many Troopers Gone

**Part X: So Many Troopers Gone**

Rex was yelling as loud as he could.

“Out of the way, please, out of the way!”

At this time of the day, the market square of Sayan was at its busiest. People were walking everywhere regardless of the direction of the streets; merchants were shouting their prices in all kind of alien languages and Rex even got a glimpse of children were running between the colorful stands, their hands full of stolen fruits. Really, Rex pitied the troopers who had been tasked with ensuring security in the market today.

“Hey you!” He said to a large Ithorian who was standing in the middle of the street. “Move along!”

Recognizing his armor, the Ithorian complied — not without muttering a couple of insults in Ithorese — and, with a few nudges in the crowd, Bo-Katan and Rex managed to make their way past him.

“I hope we can make it to the base before dusk,” Bo-Katan said, half-jokingly.

She was walking alongside Rex, cloaked in a dark poncho used to dissimulate the two blasters she was carrying at her side. It was the only parts of her armor she had brought with her in order to ensure she would go unnoticed.

“Yeah, well… The crossing of the market square certainly took longer than anticipated but we shouldn’t be too far, by now.”

They had purposely chosen to infiltrate the imperial base in the morning, hoping the place wouldn’t be as guarded if the clones were patrolling the streets.

“Here,” Bo suddenly said, pointing at the turret installation of a big squared building that was sticking out behind the market’s roofs. “I think this is it.”

“It certainly looks like it. Alright,” he said putting back his helmet. “Ready for this?”

“Always,” she grinned.

***********

“Halt!”

One of the clones stationed at the entrance of the base extended a hand to signal them to stop.

“What have you got there, trooper?”

Rex was gripping Bo-Katan’s arm with one hand and holding his helmet with the other.

“A prisoner,” Rex answered. “Sir.”

“I can see that,” the clone carefully said. “But I have no trace of an incoming prisoner in my records.”

“Yes, err… I just caught her.”

“What for?”

Bo could almost see the guard frowning under his helmet.

“We caught her sabotaging one of our speeders.”

The way Rex had said it, it almost sounded like a question. “What a terrible liar,” Bo thought.

“I wasn’t informed of that, either.”

“That’s… because my partner is still trying to repair the speeder to bring it back. He’ll be there in no time to fill a report.”

“This is never going to work,” Bo told herself, her gaze shifting from Rex to the other clone. The guard seemed to study Rex with attention. Sure, his story was a little odd, but he couldn’t deny the man was one of his brothers. What kind of threat could he represent?

“Alright, then,” he finally said. “Go ahead. But fill your report as soon as you’re in the base. Don’t wait for your partner.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rex gave Bo-Katan a little shove with his shoulder.

“Move, you, huh… you thug!”

She raised a brow at the poor attempt to insult her, but moved forward nonetheless. They were about five meters past the guards when one of them called them back.

“Oh and, trooper!” He shouted. “About your armor…”

Rex froze. He had hoped they wouldn’t notice the phase I armor he had borrowed from Cut; his own being too distinctive to be worn in public.

“I know this one is more efficient, but the rules are stricter, now. You’ll have to wear your phase II.”

Rex relaxed.

“Copy that, sir.”

They hurried to pass through the gates before the guard could change his mind.

“I must admit I’m impressed,” Bo-Katan said once they were out of the guards’ reach. “It actually worked.”

“Believe me,” he replied, “I’ve seen worst plans succeed.”

They got inside the building without attracting too much attention. The base looked like a giant grey trapezoid with four turrets on the roof, one for each cardinal point. On the eastern side of the building was a large hangar and next to it, a long runway. Rex noticed how quickly the construction had progressed. Apart from a few scaffolds around one of the turrets, the building was virtually completed. Such a massive building couldn’t have been constructed during the few weeks that had passed since the birth of the Empire. The construction had necessarily begun before. It made Rex wonder for how long had the Emperor been preparing to take over the galaxy.

They finally stopped in front of an elevator. The doors opened and two clones came out, giving a small nod towards Rex. It was a cold salute, as if nothing close to camaraderie could ever exist between them. Rex nodded back and turned around to look as they were walking past them. “Is this what I would’ve become if I had executed the order?” he asked himself as Bo-Katan and him were stepping inside the now empty elevator. He shook his head as if it could make the thoughts go away. Now wasn’t the time to think about that; he needed to focus on the mission.

“So,” Bo-Katan said as soon as the doors closed behind them. “Where do I go, now?”

He answered while unlocking her handcuffs.

“If this base is built like the Republic ones, you should find the computer room in the north wing. From there, you should be able to find the intel about your friends and send them a message. But you’ll have to take down the staff, first. Computer rooms are rarely empty.”

“Got it,” she said, rubbing her aching wrists. “What about you?”

“I’ll go to the officers’ quarters. Only their computers have access to personal files. Call me as soon as you’re done so I can come and pick you up. It’s best if you don’t wander alone in the base too much.”

“Alright.”

The elevator stopped again and Bo made a step forward to get out.

“Wait,” Rex said, grabbing her by the arm.

“What is it?”

“Please… Set for stun.”

She nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to hurt anyone.”

**********

Rex could feel his heart beating in his chest. On the screen in front of him was the long list of all the clone commanders who had ever served in the Grand Army of the Republic. “It’s the Imperial Army, now,” he reminded himself. He had already checked his own name to verify if someone had found the crash site, but no. For now, both Ahsoka and him were considered missing; no one would be actively looking for them. At least not with the intent to kill them for treason. And now that this verification was done, he could proceed with what he had come to do in the first place. He would only need to click on one of the numbers on the list to learn what had happened to the clone behind it. But now that he was so close to find the answers he had sought for weeks, he asked himself if he really wanted to know the truth. After all, some questions were best left unanswered. But just like when Bo-Katan had tried to convince him to come along, his need to know got the best of him. He cared too much to willingly ignore what had become of his fellow comrades-in-arms. So, with a deep breath, he clicked on the first number.

He found no evidence that any of his brothers had removed his chip. Every file he checked told the same story. Order 66 had been an unquestionable success. For the Empire, of course. For his brothers, the picture was more… nuanced. Although every clone whose file Rex had checked seemed to have executed the order, not all of them had dealt with the aftermath the same way. Gree was dead, and so was Fox. Others like Bly had fallen into a deep depression. But the vast majority of his brothers seemed to have complied with the order without too many questions. The best example was perhaps the case of Cody. His file indicated he had executed order 66 with such loyalty that he had been sent on Kamino to train new recruits, in the hope that he would serve as an example to them. A wave of guilt and sadness swept over Rex as he read Cody’s record. He knew how much his brother had held general Kenobi in high esteem, how much he had liked and respected the man. At the end of the war, they had become friends, not unlike Rex himself with Anakin and Ahsoka. The thought of Cody killing Kenobi crushed Rex, but he knew his own feelings would be nothing compared to Cody’s, should his brother ever come to understand what he had done.

Rex almost hesitated to open the last file of the list. Wolffe’s file. He wasn’t sure he could bear to learn how another of his brothers had lost his free-will in order to become a puppet of Darth Sidious. But he opened it nonetheless. If there was only the slightest chance that one of them had fought the order, he needed to know it. And what he learned in Wolffe’s record rewarded his faith. At the end of the file was a report filed by one of Wolffe’s men. According to him, even though Wolffe had received the order, he had not been the one who had killed Plo Koon. That may be why, in the days following the birth of the Empire, the leader of the Wolfpack had begun to question the events that had made Palpatine’s rise to power possible. The author of the report assessed that Wolffe represented a risk for internal security and had to be kept under surveillance. And at the end of the document, a footnote had been added, indicating that the commander of the 104th Battalion had been transferred on Coruscant and assigned to administrative work. If the situation had not been so tragic, Rex would have laughed at the image of Wolffe behind a desk.

His mind began to wander. Coruscant was too big of a planet to be properly protected. Rex was fairly certain he could easily clear customs and circulate freely in the capital without being noticed. Just like the sentinel at the entrance of the base, nobody within the Coruscant security service would be wary of a clone. After that, he would only need to find Wolffe and convince him to remove his chip. He wouldn’t tell him the truth right away, of course. His brother wouldn’t believe him. But Rex was confident that it wouldn’t be hard to convince an already disillusioned Wolffe to leave his desk job.

The loud noise of an explosion suddenly interrupted his reflection. His heart gave a little jump and he immediately rushed to his comlink.

“Kryze! Come in!”

Bo-Katan’s voice replied almost immediately.

“I’m on my way!”

He heard a blaster shot through the comlink.

“Bo-Katan?”

There was a little pause and then…

“I’m fine!”

“What the hell was that?!” Rex asked as he frantically shut down the computer and grabbed his helmet.

“I’m trying to get out of here.”

“What happened?”

He took a quick peek into the corridor to make sure it was empty and put his helmet on before leaving the room.

“I think I found Korkie! I managed to send him a message, but…” She grunted at the other end of the line. “But I’m pretty sure someone from the base was beginning to suspect my presence.”

Another blaster shot.

“So, I blew up the whole thing. That way, they won’t be able to intercept the transmission.”

It took Rex a few seconds to fully assimilate what she had just said.

“You WHAT?!”


	12. Old and New Friends

**Part XI: Old and New Friends**

Compared to the assembly of Pau’ans in front of whom she was sitting, Makala looked very small. And even more beautiful than usual, Ahsoka noted. The oldest of Fardi’s daughters had been sent to negotiate the price of new grain shipments with the Farmers’ Association of Utapau on the behalf of her father, and Ahsoka, as her new bodyguard, had followed her to the Outer Rim planet. At first, Ahsoka had been a bit surprised to see that a young woman who didn’t occupy any official position in the government was in charge of such important negotiations, but she quickly learned that the government on Thabeska was so tied to the Fardi clan that there was not much difference between the two anymore. And Makala seemed to handle things perfectly well.

“It’s non-negotiable,” Makala said to the association official with a rare assurance. “My father will not pay more than 6,000 credits for one load. Your industry benefits from government aid. Charging us more than 6,000 credits would be steep and I’m being polite.”

“We received government funding because we had a difficult harvest this year. The money went to our farmers’ families, it is not a form of export aid. Moreover,” he added, joining hands, “I don’t think you are in a very good position to negotiate, miss Fardi. Thabeska is not self-sufficient in terms of agricultural production. I don’t think your people would be pleased to know they cannot eat because your father was too… parsimonious.”

Makala frowned, her gaze suddenly threatening.

“What _I_ think is that my people wouldn’t be pleased to pay twice the normal price for their food. Because they will have something to eat, with or without you. There is no scenario in which Thabeskans die of hunger in my father’s plans, minister Golon.”

The Pau’an raised his hairless brow ridge, slightly surprised by her assertion.

“Surely, you cannot have another seller. Our only competitor on the market right now is Alderaan and it is way too far from Thabeska. With the transport costs, it would be much more expensive for you to buy Alderaanian merchandise rather than ours.”

“I can’t give you the details of our current negotiations with other potential sellers, but what I can tell you is that you’re gravely mistaken on one point. The same quantity of grain from Alderaan would cost us 6,750 credits per crate, which is just a little less than the 7,000 credits you’re charging us. But once accumulated, those 250 credits would constitute a significant cost saving.”

“You’re bluffing,” her interlocutor said.

Makala didn’t smile but Ahsoka saw in her eyes that she knew she had won. She didn’t need to convince the Pau’ans, only to create a doubt in their minds.

“I think _you’re_ the ones who needs us. You did have a bad season. Your surpluses are not sufficient to provide supplies for big planets. You lost many contracts this year. Thabeska is one of your last clients and taking the chance to verify if I lie is not really a luxury you have.”

The Pau’an leaned towards his colleague who whispered something in his ear.

“6,000 credits it is, then,” he finally said. “But only if you buy our milk in addition to the rest.”

“I’ll transmit the proposition to my father, but I think there should be no problem.”

The Pau’an slightly bowed.

“It was a pleasure to do business with you, miss Fardi.”

He didn’t look like he meant it.

“You were brilliant back there,” Ahsoka told Makala as they were walking back to their ship.

“Thank you. Coming from someone who used to live among Coruscanti politicians, I take it as a compliment.”

Ahsoka tried to hide the panic in her voice.

“How…? I mean, I never said… Who told you that?”

“Relax,” Makala said with a smile. “It was just a guess.”

“A bad one, then.”

“Really? You seemed to have a good understanding of what was happening around that table. And I doubt foster homes on Coruscant teach their pupils how to negotiate food imports.”

“Well, I didn’t understand _all_ of it.”

“If you say so,” Makala replied with a smirk.

Ahsoka didn’t respond. She knew continuing to lie wouldn’t convince Makala and she couldn’t tell her the truth, either. In that kind of case, it was best to stay silent. Her thoughts turned to Padmé. Today, for the second time since she had met Makala, the Fardi girl had reminded her of her friend. Despite her young age, Padmé had been an exceptional speaker and a ferocious negotiator.

“You would have made an excellent senator,” Ahsoka finally said, almost whispering.

Makala smiled but she knew better than to comment that last sentence.

“Come on,” she only said. “I want to announce the good news to my father.”

She walked towards their ship parked on a landing platform on the edge of a large pit, but turned around when she noticed Ahsoka wasn’t following her.

“Ashla?”

But Ahsoka barely heard her, suddenly overwhelmed by a terrible pain. A mix of fear, confusion and betrayal. She recognized it, for she had experienced it twice in the past. The first time, when she had been wrongly accused of Letta Turmond’s murder and the second, just weeks ago, when Rex and the other clones had turned against her. But the pain she was now feeling wasn’t hers.

“Ashla, are you okay?”

Makala had come back at her side, her eyebrows frowned with concern.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Ahsoka said, her palms on her temples. “I’m just a bit dizzy. I should have eaten more this morning.”

She tried to make a reassuring smile, but it probably didn’t seem convincing because it only caused Makala to frown more.

“Mmm… I think we’ll find something to eat before leaving, then”

“No really, it’s okay. I’ll just…”

“That wasn’t a suggestion. You’re my pilot; for both our sakes, I don’t want you to pass out while we’re flying.”

Ahsoka wasn’t in the mood for quibbling.

“Alright, then. Go ahead, I’ll join you in a minute.”

Makala cast her another worried look but didn’t argue. Her friend gone, Ahsoka walked to the edge of the crater. It was so deep that she couldn’t see the bottom of it. She remembered Obi-Wan had been on Utapau just before order 66. Was this where Cody had tried to kill him? It was hard to tell. Despite all the things Ahsoka could feel in this place, death wasn’t one of them. Or at least, not Obi-Wan’s death.

She smiled.

“Feeling better?” Makala asked as Ahsoka joined her inside the cantina she had found.

“A bit, thank you.”

The cantina was carved in the rock that surrounded the pit but the front façade overlooking the crater was missing a wall, which provided enough sunlight to keep the place fully illuminated. Ahsoka sat down in front of Makala.

“I commanded some haroun bread. I didn’t know if you like it, but it was the only thing on the menu that didn’t have raw meat in it.”

“Haroun bread is fine. Thank you.”

After three years of ration packs, anything was fine. They began to eat in silence. Ahsoka noticed the side glances Makala cast in her direction, but she waited for the Fardi girl to speak first, which she eventually did after a few minutes.

“You know,” Makala began, excessively focused on her plate. “I’ve never properly thanked you for… you know… Bija’an.”

The name alone was enough to make her wince.

“Oh! Well… You don’t need to thank me for that. It was the only thing to do.”

Makala snorted.

“Believe me, I know a lot of people who would have ignored it out of fear of Bija’an.”

“I’ve met people more frightening than him.”

“Yeah… I think you’re tougher than you look,” Makala said with a little smile.

Ahsoka burst out laughing.

“Your father told me the same thing.”

“Is that why he asked you to spy on me?”

Ahsoka stopped laughing.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” Makala said.

Her gaze wasn’t accusatory, only sad. Ahsoka didn’t try to deny it.

“Yes. But I only agreed because I thought it could help to protect you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not mad at you. I knew it would happen someday.”

“You knew he would try to spy on you?”

“I knew he would try to control the people I see.”

She sighed.

“He’s not my real father, you know. He’s my uncle. My mother was his favorite sister, but she fell in love with a union activist from a speeder factory. When she got pregnant, her sisters put pressure on my uncle to ban her from the family. Officially, they said her marriage with someone from a lower class had brought dishonor to the family. But I just think they were jealous. They all had an arranged marriage while my mother had chosen her husband. My uncle was torn between his love for his sister and the pressure from the rest of the family. So, he chose to let my mother live with her husband but he requested that her children grow up with the rest of the clan. My sisters and I were each given to him just after our birth. To us, he is our real father. We were allowed to visit our parents once in a while, but they were like strangers to us.”

“That’s… That’s horrible. And your parents agreed with this?”

“No, but they didn’t have a choice. My uncle is the most powerful man of Thabeska. My mother… She killed herself just after Hedala’s birth. It was… traumatic for my uncle. His pain blinded him. He became convinced my mother would still be alive had she made an arranged marriage like her sisters. Since then, he does everything he can to ensure my sisters and I won’t follow our mother’s footsteps.”

She sighed.

“I’ve always suspected Bija’an to keep an eye on the people I was seeing. Now it’s your job.”

“I’m sorry, Makala,” Ahsoka said, taking her hand.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

She gave Ahsoka a small smile.

“I’m actually glad you’ve accepted it. It allows me to spend time with a friend.”

**********

“Father, please!” Makala said, a hint of despair in her voice.

She was sitting on a couch in the lounge of Fardi’s house where her father usually received his guests.

“No.”

The answer was unequivocal.

“You did well on Utapau. Extremely well, actually. And I’m very proud of you. But I don’t want you to be involved in our… other kind of business,” Fardi said.

“But I’m your best negotiator, you said it yourself! And now that Bija’an is… gone, there’s nobody else who can go there.”

Fardi rose from his couch and began to pace the room silently. Makala took it as an encouragement to continue.

“I go there; I give them the crates; I take the money and I come back here. This is just business; I do this all the time. The only difference is the contents of the crates.”

“And the people you’re dealing with,” her father replied. “If something goes wrong, they won’t hesitate to…”

He shook his head.

“No, I can’t let you do that.”

“But what could go wrong? They already proved they could pay us and all the merchandise is ready to be shipped.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I have my sources,” Mekala answered, folding her arms.

“You seemed well informed,” her father sighed.

“I am. I’m more prepared than you think.”

“I don’t doubt it. But what worries me is when things don’t go as planned.”

“Then I’ll have Ashla.”

Fardi sighed again.

Ahsoka sensed her friend coming before Makala even had the chance to knock on her door.

“Ashla? Ashla, are you there?”

Even without the Force, Ahsoka could hear the excitement in her voice. She rose from her mattress where she had been trying to meditate and went to the door.

“Pack your things, we’re leaving tonight!” Her friend said as soon as Ahsoka opened.

“Already? We just got back from Utapau.”

“I know, I know. I wasn’t supposed to be the one in charge of this mission, but my father accepted to let me go.”

“Alright then,” Ahsoka said. “It’s not like I have that much things to pack.”

Not to say nothing at all.

“So... What is this mission?” Ahsoka asked as she began searching for some ration bars and her cloak.

“It’s only a delivery. A group of activists bought some… supplies to my father.”

Ahsoka frowned. The answer couldn’t have been vaguer, which meant the delivery had probably nothing to do with grain and milk.

“And can I ask where we’re heading so hastily?”

“Sure. You’ll know sooner or later, anyways. We’re going to Onderon.”


	13. Jaig Eyes

**Part XII: Jaig Eyes**

Rex stunned two of his brothers as he turned around the corner and ran straight into Bo-Katan. They bumped into each other with a thud.

“Ouch!”

Bo-Katan regained her senses first.

“There you are,” the Mandalorian said, rubbing her head. “I was looking for you.”

Her voice was almost covered by the sound of the alarm filling the base.

“Well I’m here now. What’s your plan?”

“I was thinking we could fight our way out.”

“That’s not a plan!”

“Sorry, but with your brothers on the heels, I didn’t really get the chance to think about it.”

New footsteps were already coming in their way.

“Couldn’t you think about it _before_ blowing the whole thing?” Rex asked, moving to position himself back to back with her, blasters ready to shoot.

“I reacted emotionally, okay? I’m sorry it put you into trouble but what’s done is done.”

He turned around to look at her in disbelief. _She_ had reacted emotionally? It really didn’t sound like something she would do. Whoever was this Korkie, he was obviously more important than Rex had thought.

“What?” She asked.

“Nothing,” he said resuming his position. “Brace yourself, here they come.”

Indeed. Troopers appeared at both ends of the corridor, shouting and shooting. Rex and Bo-Katan immediately started to blast. Their respective skills combined with the surprise effect allowed them to take down the squad in a matter of minutes.

“Let’s move before the second wave arrives,” Bo-Katan said, panting.

“Right. Let’s go east. That’s where the ships are.”

They ran a few more meters before coming face to face with another group of clones. Rex growled.

“How many are there?”

“We don’t really have time to count,” Bo replied. “Ahsoka always said you were the best shot in all the GAR, looks like we’re about to see if she was right.”

With that, she charged at the group of troopers.

Rex raised a brow. Ahsoka had said he was the best shot in the whole army? They both knew that claim wasn’t true. That made him feel a sudden wave of fondness for the young Togruta. He missed her. “Someday, I’ll thank you for that compliment in person, Ahsoka,” he thought. And he joined Bo-Katan in the fight, determined not to let his friend pass for a liar.

He was surprised to realize how easy it was to fight alongside the Mandalorian. It didn’t take long before they figured out each other’s fighting style and became able to anticipate the other’s moves. Sure, Bo-Katan wasn’t Anakin or Ahsoka. She didn’t have the incredible abilities that came with Force-sensitivity and Rex wasn’t so confident that she would have his back that he could jump into battle without even thinking about it. But she was definitively a skilled warrior he could rely on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her using ancestral Mandalorian fighting techniques so efficient that it made her look like she could take down an entire army by herself. It wasn’t the first time Rex was seeing a Mandalorian fight, but he had never worked so closely with one of them before, even during the siege on Mandalore. And he could see why they were considered the best warriors in the galaxy.

With their concerted efforts, Rex and Bo-Katan managed to get through the second group of troopers who had put up a good fight. Rex sighed as he looked the bodies of his brothers on the floor. The situation was beginning to resemble too much his escape from the Venator with Ahsoka. An event he really didn’t want to relive, especially now when he needed to stay focused. Next to him, Bo-Katan noticed his discomfort.

“Rex?”

“We really need to get out of here…”

“Agreed. How much farther is the hangar?”

Rex was about to answer when a mechanical voice resounded through the base.

“Attention, attention. Code 78-B activated; I repeat, code 78-B activated.”

Bo-Katan turned to Rex.

“What does that mean?”

“That means there’s an intruder in the base and that all the ships are to be grounded.”

“Great. There goes our only chance to get out.”

Rex thought quickly.

“There’s another way. The emergency exit. Once you’re out, you can go back to the Gauntlet and leave.”

“Won’t it be guarded?”

“I don’t think so. Intruders are not usually aware of its location, so the men are not used to protect it.”

“But if we run straight to it, they’ll figure out where we heading.”

“Not if we part ways. I’ll lure them to the hangar; it will divide their forces. Some troopers will still be looking for you but they won’t guess you know about the emergency exit. And with your skills, it will be easy for you to slip past them.”

“Out of question. I’m not leaving you behind. Plus, we have a better chance to get out of here if we stay together.”

“Perhaps, but in the present situation, that’s not an option we have.”

She seemed to be thinking.

“There’s a whole planet waiting for your return,” Rex added. “Nobody’s waiting for me. Not anymore.”

She looked at him. Her expression was unreadable but she definitively seemed conflicted.

“Alright, then,” she finally said. “Tell me where the exit is.”

“First floor, behind the officers’ quarters. It’s easy to spot.”

“I’ll find it. Oh! And Rex?”

He looked at her.

“Thank you.”

He nodded.

“Go now.”

The course of events that followed remained blurry in Rex’s mind. What happened in a matter of minutes seemed to last hours. Rex knew he couldn’t hold off his brothers too long, at least not alone. He stunned some of the clones firing at him but couldn’t bring himself to keep shooting at them. Flashbacks from order 66 kept dancing before his eyes, overrunning his mind with painful memories and distracting him from the scene happening before him. His best chance was to run for the hangars. The chances of success were slim but if he was lucky, he would be able to steal one of the ships; if he wasn’t, he would have bought Bo-Katan some time to escape.

Fortunately, his brothers seemed as much disturbed as he was at the idea to shoot one of them and many hesitated to pull the trigger, which gave Rex an advantage. He managed to cross half of the base and, for a split second, thought he could make it to the runway and the hangars. But just as he arrived in the last wing separating him from the exit leading to the hangars, a new wave of troopers appeared in the narrow corridor right in front of him. With others still coming from behind, he was trapped.

Rex quickly glanced around him. A few meters ahead, on his right, was an unguarded door. Strange, but Rex didn’t have time to think about it. He went for it with the last of his strength. The door opened to a staircase leading upwards and Rex threw himself inside. But he barely got time to climb a few steps before the troopers behind him opened the door themselves. He turned around to shoot the door controls, blocking the entrance to new pursuers, but three clones had already stepped inside. Rex swore. They were getting close and the staircase provided no cover. He would have to get to the upper floor as fast as he could. He climbed the steps two at a time and finally reached the exit door. But a chill ran down his spine as he realized he had ended up on the roof. There was no escape. The short moment of hesitation accompanying his realization was enough for the three troopers behind to catch up with him. One of them knocked Rex’s blaster out of his hands and the confrontation turned into a hand-to-hand fight. Rex took down two of his assailants but the last one broke free from his grip and when Rex turned around to face him, the trooper was pointing his blaster at him.

Rex put his hands in the air.

“Alright, trooper. You got me. Now, don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“Why would I regret shooting a traitor? Who are you? Why did you help this woman blow up our base?”

The clone was slightly shaking. Obviously, he had never had to confront one of his brothers before. This was a weakness Rex could exploit. He slowly lowered his hands to his head.

“I’ll just…”

The other clone stiffened.

“Easy, easy…” Rex said. “I’ll just remove my helmet.”

He knew that would work in his favor. The other would be even more hesitant to shoot if he had to face his own visage. Rex slowly proceeded to take off his helmet. His brother remained still, probably desperate to see if the person under the armor was really another clone.

“You see? I’m just like you. Same nose, same mouth, same eyes…”

But his words only seemed to make the other angry.

“You’re not like me! You’re a traitor to the Empire!”

Rex frowned. He knew only too well this kind of blind loyalty.

“Listen, trooper… What’s your name?”

His brother opened his mouth to answer but at the same moment, an old separatist STAP suddenly emerged from behind and before Rex could say anything, the STAP’s guns fired at the trooper.

“No!”

Rex caught him just before the body hit the ground.

“I…” His brother coughed. “I’m Brisk.”

And he closed his eyes, dead.

“No…” Rex whispered. “Not again.”

He remembered holding Waxer’s corpse on Umbara, then Fives’, then Jesse’s…

“I’m sorry, _vod_ ,” he said, pressing his forehead against Brisk’s.

A voice next to him echoed his words.

“Sorry.”

He looked up. Bo-Katan had jumped off the STAP and was walking towards him.

“That thing can only fire real blasts.”

Rex gently put Brisk’s body on the ground.

“You came back.”

“Of course. I _borrowed_ this to someone in town,” she said pointing her thumb at the STAP.

She looked at the three bodies laying on the roof.

“We should hurry now. It’s only a matter of time before the others arrive.”

Rex silently nodded in agreement. He gave a last look at Brisk and climbed on the STAP behind Bo-Katan. They left the base’s roof without a word. A few seconds later, Rex heard the remaining troopers finally reaching the roof but Bo-Katan and him were already too far to be hit by their shots. They got back to the Gauntlet they had parked outside the city and took off, the both of them still silent.

Rex waited until they were sure to have a sufficient head start over their pursuers before switching to autopilot and turned his seat to face Bo-Katan next to him.

“Thanks.”

“What for?”

“Coming back to get me.”

“I didn’t want you to reveal the location of the Lawquanes’ house under torture.”

She paused.

“And I’m the one who brought you there in the first place. I wasn’t going to let you die in that base.”

“You didn’t force me. I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to.”

“Mmm.”

The young woman remained silent for a time.

“You know, I saw your dedication to the fight and to your brothers. This is something I respect. You fought like a real Mandalorian back there. And I would never abandon one of my people.”

Rex was strangely touched by her words.

“Thanks. I guess I’ve always tried to do what was best for my brothers.”

“That’s what one of us taught you to do, isn’t it?”

“What makes you say that?”

“That’s what Mandalorians do. And when we were on the roof, you called the other clone ‘vod’. I don’t think the Kaminoans taught you that word.”

“No.”

He paused as images from his past came to his mind.

“Back in the days, before the Jedis and the war, many of our instructors on Kamino were Mandalorians. Those of us who were trained by them also adopted some elements of their culture.”

“That explains the jaig eyes on your helmet. I’ve always thought you didn’t know what it meant.”

“I earned them during my training on Kamino. During an important test. We used to call them the ‘make or break tests’ because the stakes were real. Everything was recreated to mimic a real fight. If you got shot, you were hurt and nobody could help you until the end of the fight. The Kaminoans’ goal was to physically eliminate those of us who were not strong enough for real battles. That day, it was the selection for command training. I was the one in charge of my team. We almost made it to the end. But the last step to win the mission required me to sacrifice one of the boys under my command. I knew he would most likely die, so I refused to do it. I knew I had made the right choice but the Kaminoans didn’t share my opinion. They thought we should value victory over the life of a single brother. It cost me my place in command training.”

“How old were you?”

“In normal age? Eight. After that, I kept the designation CT and joined a squad of regular troopers trained by a young Mandalorian named Fenn Rau.”

Bo-Katan interrupted him, visibly surprised.

“You were trained by Fenn Rau?”

“Yes. You… know him?”

“He was a… friend. But I never knew he had trained clones on Kamino.”

“He did. He was one of the best instructors I ever had. Rau thought it wasn’t fair that I was punished for what I had done. He told me it was incredibly selfless and very honorable; worthy of a Mandalorian like him. So, he gave me my jaig eyes and I never stopped wearing them.”

Bo-Katan slowly nodded.

“Well, for what’s worth, I couldn’t have made it today without your sacrifice, captain. I think you can wear those jaig eyes proudly.”


	14. The Patriot

**Part XIII: The Patriot**

Saw Gerrera looked at the holomap hovering on the table in front of him. In the cavern’s obscurity, its blue halo was the only source of light.

“You say the roads to Banna have been destroyed?”

The answer came from one of Saw’s soldiers named Shara.

“Yes. They were bombed this morning. It’s just ruins, now. No transport can pass.”

“But why bomb Banna?” Another one called Kalim asked. “There’s nothing of interest there.”

Saw frowned for a second, then let out a joyless laugh as he understood the Empire’s maneuver.

“Those sons of Murglaks… Their target wasn’t Banna, it was the Bannans. The majority of the city’s population works in the oil refinery. If they can’t go to work tomorrow morning, we’ll soon be running out of fuel.”

“We could buy fuel from another planet,” Shara suggested.

“That would be costly and risky. It would be easy for the Empire to intercept our imports,” Saw replied.

He banged his fist on the table, making the holomap flicker.

“I swear, I…”

The sound of his comlink beeping interrupted him.

“This better be good news,” he mumbled before answering.

The image of one of his lieutenants materialized before them.

“What is it Magva?”

The woman answered, her voice distorted by the hologram.

“The Thabeskans smugglers to whom you bought our new rifles have made contact with us. They’re about to enter the atmosphere and are asking for landing coordinates.”

“Ah! About time…”

Finally, good news. These new rifles brought by the Thabeskans would allow Saw and his group of rebels to even the odds with the Empire. At least for a time.

“Tell them to land in the Amanoa canyon. You can give them the exact coordinates, but I don’t want them to know about the Nest. Make sure they don’t get anywhere near it.”

“Copy that,” Magva said before disappearing.

As far as Saw was concerned, the Thabeskans weren’t tied to the Empire — that was precisely why he had chosen them to buy his new weapons — but still, with everything currently happening in the galaxy, you could never be too careful. He had deliberately omitted to give them the landing coordinates until the last minute and now, he would make sure the exact location of their base would remain unknown to their guests.

“Prepare three rupings,” he said to Kalim. “We’re going to meet our new friends.”

**********

Kalim frowned behind his pair of electrobinoculars.

“I think I see them.”

Saw extended a hand.

“Let me see.”

Kalim pulled the cord over his head and handed the device to his chief. Saw looked through the binoculars in the direction Kalim had pointed.

“Just a little more on the right,” he heard the young man say besides him.

Saw did as he said, and sure enough, he saw the Thabeskan shuttle approaching. The ship hovered above the canyon for a few minutes, then began its descent.

“That’s them,” Saw said, returning his electrobinoculars to Kalim. “Let’s go.”

With that, he clicked his tongue, making his ruping launch into the sky.

When Saw and his two men touched the ground, the Thabeskan shuttle had already landed and two hooded silhouettes were standing next to it. The three ruping landed in front of them as the two Thabeskans emissaries raised their hands to protect their faces from the dust raised by the flap of the beasts’ wings.

“Welcome to Onderon,” Saw said, jumping off his mount.

He gave a pat on the ruping’s neck and turned to the Thabeskans.

“I hope you had a good trip.”

The first emissary spoke.

“We didn’t meet any imperial ship if that’s what you’re asking. The cargo is intact.”

“It is what I was asking.”

He smiled, happy to see he was dealing with someone intelligent. But the Thabeskan then removed his hood and Saw’s smile faded. The emissary was a beautiful young woman, who didn’t even seem to be twenty years old. Her hair had been expertly braided with multiple jewels and under her cloak, Saw caught a glimpse of a luxurious dress. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have minded seeing such a beautiful girl appear before him, but not today. Today he needed to make an important deal and this girl looked more like a princess than an arms dealer. For their sake, he hoped the Thabeskans had not tried to pull a fast one on him.

“I take it you are not the man called Bija’an.”

“No. Unfortunately, Bija’an doesn’t work for us anymore, but I’ve been sent to make the exchange in his place.”

“Us?”

“I’m Makala Fardi. Askaar Fardi’s daughter.”

Saw crossed his arms, unimpressed. Whether or not the fact that Fardi had sent him his own daughter was a sign of trust remained to be seen.

“Do you have my shipment, miss Fardi?”

“Of course. It’s in the cargo hold.”

Saw gestured for his men to go check said cargo hold but before any of them could make a step, Makala Fardi raised a hand to stop them.

“Wait. _I_ may have the shipment but I need to know if _you_ have the money.”

Saw smiled again. Maybe she was more of a dealer than he had thought.

“I do.”

“Well, you’ll need to prove it.”

“I can show you the money, darling, but I guarantee you that you won’t be able to even smell it before I have my rifles.”

“Let’s make a deal, then. I’ll show you the weapons and, in the meantime, my bodyguard will go with one of your men to see if you have the money. When everybody is satisfied, we can make the exchange.”

“That’s fine by me.”

He turned to Kalim and pointed at the bodyguard standing behind Fardi.

“Search him and blindfold him. Then you can guide him to the Nest.”

His lieutenant nodded.

“Wait…” began the bodyguard.

“Don’t worry,” Fardi said. “I trust mister Gerrera to fulfil his part of the deal.”

She looked into his eyes with a challenging look as if she was daring him to break his word. Saw held her gaze for a few seconds.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“She’s clean, Saw.”

The rebel leader turned to Kalim. Next to him was standing the bodyguard of Makala Fardi, his face now uncovered after Kalim’s search.

Only he was a she, and Saw recognized her immediately.

“Ahso…?”

“My name is Ashla,” the young Togruta said, interrupting him. “Now if you want to show me the way to your base…”

By the look in her eyes, Saw understood that now wasn’t the time for questions.

“Kalim,” he called. “Stay with miss Fardi. I’ll escort Ashla to the Nest.”

“But I thought you said…”

“I changed my mind. Can I trust you to verify the merchandise?”

“Of course,” Kalim responded, slightly taken aback.

“Good.”

He looked to Ahsoka and indicated the rupings.

“You know how to ride those?”

“I do, actually.”

He could’ve sworn she had smiled. 

**********

“That’s quite a story you’ve got there,” Saw said.

They were both leaning against the guard rail surrounding the wooden fort called the Nest which served as a base for the Onderonians rebels.

“Do you know where Rex is, now?”

Ahsoka briefly closed her eyes as a pained expression came across her face.

“I wish I would. But we’ve lost contact since we left Tahlar.”

“And you’ve traveled on your own since then? Impressive.”

“I was a Jedi, remember?”

“Precisely. You guys aren’t used to survive alone in the wild,” he said with a smirk.

“Weren’t,” she corrected him. “The Jedi Order doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

She felt the need to change the subject.

“What about you? You’re still fighting I see.”

“Yeah… The Separatists didn’t abandon Onderon as fast as we thought they would after you left. They withdrew their troops, but they established a blockade around the planet and we underwent a siege. When we learned the Seppies had finally lost the war, we thought we would finally be free, but then…”

“The Empire arrived,” Ahsoka completed.

Saw nodded.

“You’re not the only ones,” she added. “It seems to be a recurring theme across the galaxy, nowadays. Palpatine had planned this since the beginning.”

“And the Jedis didn’t see it coming.”

“We paid for that mistake,” Ahsoka replied bluntly.

They remained silent for a time.

“Is Lux still with you?” Ahsoka finally asked.

“No. After you left last year, he went to Coruscant to serve as our senator. From what I know he’s still there. I would’ve thought _you_ would know what he has become.”

“No. We’ve never seen each other again.”

“Well… I heard he got engaged with the daughter of a Moff.”

“Engaged?”

She did not really think about Lux anymore, but still, she felt a slight twinge in the heart.

“With an Imperial,” Saw confirmed with an expression of contempt.

With a sigh, she gazed at the overlooking mountains.

“Everything looks the same and yet it all feels so… different.”

Only a year had passed since her mission on Onderon, but it seemed like a decade ago.

“Well… things _are_ different, now.”

He watched her out of the corner of his eye.

“You know, we could use somebody with your abilities. A Jedi would be a powerful ally against the Empire.”

She looked at him, slightly surprised by his offer.

“Are you proposing me to stay here?”

“I have a hard time believing someone like you is happy to work for smugglers. If you would stay here, you could make yourself useful again by helping us fight the tyranny of the Empire.”

Even if she didn’t like the way he had formulated it, Saw had a point. She had not minded working on Fardi’s ships but now, things were beginning to take a new turn. And Ahsoka didn’t want to become an arms dealer.

“I…”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence.

“Saw!”

One of Saw’s rebels was running in their direction. She stopped before them, out of breath.

“There’s an attack coming. Our scouts have spotted five Imperial fighters coming from the north and heading our way.”

“Alright.”

He turned his comlink on.

“Everyone, into your positions! Air strike coming from the north!”

Everybody around them suddenly stopped what they were doing to run to their assigned position. Despite the surrounding chaos, Saw seems strangely calm. Ahsoka turned to him.

“Does this happen often?”

“Once in a while,” Saw replied in a tone that suggested otherwise.

He looked up to the sky, waiting for the fighters to appear.

“I think you and your friend will have to spend the night with us. It wouldn’t be safe to take off while the Imps are around.”

He smirked.

“That’ll give you time to think about my offer.”


	15. Not Just Another Number

**Part XIV: Not Just Another Number**

_All around Bo-Katan, there were lots of shouting and commotion. Ever since that alarm had set off, clones were running in all direction; formerly motionless droids were powering up, and communication that didn’t involve yelling had become impossible. The entire Jedi cruiser seemed to be in eruption._

_“What’s happening?” Ursa asked next to Bo._

_“I don’t know,” replied the latter._

_Nobody was paying attention to them anymore._

_“Watch it!” a clone shouted as he ran past them._

_Bo-Katan frowned and turned her comlink on._

_“Ahsoka? Ahsoka do you read me?”_

_“I’m here!”_

_Bo looked up; the voice wasn’t coming from the comlink. At the other end of the bay, Ahsoka was walking towards them, a clone at her side._

_“What’s going on?” Bo asked as the young Togruta reached the small group of Mandalorians._

_“There’s been an attack on Coruscant. The Chancellor might be in danger. Masters Kenobi and Skywalker have been ordered to go back to help.”_

_In other circumstances, the news would have worried Bo-Katan. After all, the outcome of the Clone War would have repercussions for the whole galaxy, including neutral words like Mandalore. But today, the only think she could think of was that every passing second was a second she didn’t spend trying to stop Maul from causing more chaos on her home planet._

_“You won’t help us, then,” she flatly said._

_Ahsoka smiled._

_“The advantage of leaving the Jedi Order is that the Council can’t tell me what to do, anymore.”_

_Bo-Katan raised a brow._

_“So, you’re coming?”_

_“_ We _are coming.”_

_She turned to the clone next to her._

_“Bo, this is commander Rex. He will lead the Republic forces during the assault on Sundari. I have total confidence in him.”_

_The clone removed his helmet to salute the Mandalorian. It was the first time Bo-Katan was seeing a clone up close. He looked nothing like she had expected. He was young; or at least, younger than she would’ve thought. She estimated he was approximatively five years younger than her, which meant he was probably not even thirty. He had very short blond hair that clashed with his dark skin and a strong, clean-shaven jaw. He was handsome; there was no denying it. Yet, Bo-Katan couldn’t bring herself to enjoy his presence. “So, this is what a clone looks like. That’s the faces of those who will save the glorious Mandalore. A bunch of soldiers trained in a laboratory.”_

_The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. For weeks now, the young woman had felt terribly empty. She had spent a large part of her life fighting the pacifist regime of her sister, convinced it would ruin Mandalore and its warrior heritage. She had even gone as far as trying to make her kill, but Maul had finally beaten her to it. She had thought her time to rule had come. Her beliefs and those of the true Mandalorians would triumph once again. With Satine dead, Mandalore’s glory would be restored and the planet’s name would command respect again like it had once done. Except nothing had worked as planned and when her planet’s fate had fallen into her hands, she had only managed to plunge her world in a deadly civil war. The violence that had once been fed by her rage and her principles had slowly reached the rest of the planet and ravaged the Mandalorians. Bo-Katan, out of her depth, had been forced to watch her people tear themselves apart when she had always dreamed to see them unite to embrace their traditions again. She had finally come to the harsh conclusion that the years under Satine’s rule had been among the best Mandalore had ever seen. But she had ruined everything and the consequences were now beyond her control, so much so that — as proud as she was — she had been forced to beg the Republic for their aid. And since then, she was waking up every day with a profound sense of failure._

_“Well… I hope you’re up for a good fight, commander,” she only said to the clone. “Because you’re about to get one.”_

_**********_

Bo-Katan put down her shovel to wipe the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. “I really should get hold of a new headband,” she thought. At this hour of the day, the sun was at its highest point and today, the sky was particularly cloudless.

“Everything’s fine over there?”

The Mandalorian looked up at Rex who was sitting on the edge of the garden a few meters away, busy cleaning his armor. He had been hurt in the shoulder during their little trip at the Sayan’s Imperial Base and since then, Suu had categorically refused to let him do any kind of work involving his arms, including digging in the garden. Which meant Bo had to do twice the work.

“Don’t tease me,” she said, frowning. “If it was up to me, you’d be sweating with me, right now.”

He chuckled and picked up his chest plate to rub it with a cloth.

“Go ahead, you can laugh, but the day you’re healed, I swear…”

“Woah! It’s your jetpack?!”

It was Jek who was running toward them, still carrying his backpack. Shaeeah was following closely, calmer than her brother.

“You’re already back?” Rex asked, raising a brow.

“The teachers were having a meeting this afternoon, so we have half of our day free,” Shaeeah explained.

“Good! That means you’ll be able to lend a hand with the garden,” Bo said.

Shaeeah pouted.

“Well… If you really need our help…”

“I was joking, Shaeeah,” Bo-Katan said, going back to work. “Enjoy your afternoon. The one who should be helping me is mister ‘big trauma’ over there.”

The girl turned to Rex.

“You’re still injured, uncle Rex?”

“I’m fine, honey. But I’m afraid that could change quickly if your mother caught me working.”

He glanced at Jek who was still looking at the jetpack placed on the ground with awe.

“Like what you see buddy?”

“This is so wizard! Can I try it?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. It can be very dangerous if you don’t know how to use it correctly.”

Bo-Katan stopped her digging again and raised her head.

“On Mandalore, children learn to use a jetpack by taking part in big races.”

“Really?!” Shaeeah asked, her eyes suddenly as wide with excitement as her brother’s.

Rex looked at the Mandalorian, deadpan.

“You’re not helping.”

She smirked at him.

“I wasn’t trying to.”

“I wish I was a Mandalorian!” Jek moaned.

Bo-Katan put her hand on her hip.

“That’s not a game, kid. It’s a form of training. Mandalorian children are taught to fight very young. That’s what makes them the best warriors of the galaxy.”

Rex snickered at her words, causing Bo-Katan to frown.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well… They certainly _were_ the best. But Mandalore haven’t been through a real war since a couple of years, at least since your sister took power. The siege was the first battle for most of you in years; you can’t really claim this title anymore.”

Bo almost choke with indignation.

“Really? And who could? Clones, perhaps?”

“Why not?”

It was Bo-Katan’s turn to laugh.

“You can’t seriously believe that!”

A few minutes later, they were both standing side by side, all geared-up and with their jetpacks on the back. Jek — who didn’t seem to believe his luck — was sitting on Rex’s shoulders while his sister was carried by Bo-Katan.

“Don’t worry, son,” Rex said to the boy. “We’ll win this in no time.”

Bo let out a little laugh.

“I admire your confidence.”

“Ready…” Shaeeah said on her shoulders, “Set… Go!”

The two jetpacks took off with a roar. Immediately, Bo-Katan and Shaeeah took point. They managed to fly a few meters ahead before Shaeeah received a pile of mud at the back of her head. The force of the impact caused Bo to waver, slowing her down. Shaeeah turned her head only to see her brother waving at her with his hand still covered in mud as Rex and him were flying past the girls.

“Hey!” Shaeeah protested. “You’re cheating!”

“We’ll catch up with them, don’t worry,” said Bo, her voice muffled by the helmet.

She managed to close the distance between them the other team but Shaeeah suddenly tapped on her shoulder.

“I have an idea! Lure them into this copse of trees right there. They’ll think it’s a shortcut.”

“Why? We’ll fall behind.”

“You’ll see!”

“Okay, then. I trust you.”

And sure enough, the boys were not long to change course when they saw Bo turning left to fly towards the copse. But as soon as they arrived between the trees, they were welcomed by a rain of ripe fruits.

“Get them, Shaeeah!” Bo-Katan said as the girl on her shoulders threw all the fruits she could get her hands on at the other team.

“I call for a withdrawal!” Rex shouted, dodging a fruit.

“Impossible!” Jek replied. “We’re trapped by the trees!”

“What do you propose then, trooper?”

“I say we go after them!”

“I like your plan!”

With that, they charged the girls, yelling. And the race quickly turned into a fight. Jek and Shaeeah were throwing fruits as fast as they could while Rex and Bo-Katan tried to push each other, still careful not to knock off the children from each other’s shoulders. Ripe fruits were flying everywhere; arms and legs were kicking in the melee and everyone, without exception, was covered in purple, sticky juice.

“On what world did you think _that_ was a good idea?!”

Everybody froze in midair.

“Get back down. All of you,” Suu said, her hands firmly clutched on her hips.

Bo and Rex did as they were told and the children jumped off their shoulders.

“I see you’re having a little a fun while everybody else is working.”

Her accent was thicker when she was angry.

“No,” replied Jek, thinking it was the answer his mother wanted to hear.

Next to him, Shaeeah made a little sound.

“You think this is funny?”

“No, mom. Sorry, mom,” said the girl, clearly struggling not to laugh.

“Sorry, Suu,” Rex interjected. “It was our idea; the kids wanted to try the jetpacks.”

“I see…”

She looked at them one after the other but her gaze stopped on her son. She squinted.

“Jek! What did you put on your lekku?”

Shaeeah suddenly burst into laughter, unable to restrain herself any longer.

“You should’ve seen you face when I hit you!”

Jek stuck out his tongue in her direction, and soon, the four of them were laughing. Even Suu couldn’t hide a smile.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” she said after a few minutes. “Now you two, go help your father with his work. And while we’re at it,” she added, looking at Rex, “go with them. If you can put up with jetpack racing, you can go back to work.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Rex said, mimicking a military salute.

He then turned to the children.

“Okay, kids. Let’s go see how we can help your dad.”

Jek hurried to climb back on his shoulder and Shaeeah took his hand as they all headed back to the farm.

“It’s a shame they didn’t get the chance to live free. They’re good men; very good with kids,” Suu said as she was watching the trio walk away. “And easy on the eye,” she added, laughing.

“Huh… I guess so…” Bo-Katan replied, slightly taken aback by the unexpected confidence.

“I would never have thought I would marry a soldier, but here we are.”

Bo turned around to look at Rex and the kids herself. She had realized during the past few weeks that she could now tell the difference between Rex and Cut. At first, only their hair and the way they were interacting with the other inhabitants of the house allowed her to tell them apart, but now there was something else. Especially since the break-in at the imperial base where she had had to fight back to back with Rex. She could now see the subtle differences in the two clones’ body language; the way they were moving; their distinct vocabulary. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but Rex had something special and any kind of confusion between the two brothers now seemed impossible to Bo-Katan.

“Anyways,” Suu said, drawing the Mandalorian’s attention again. “I didn’t come here to tell you that. We received a strange signal this morning. I thought it was just some kind of electromagnetic interferences, but Cut was sure it was an encrypted message. He has just finished to crack it and I think it’s for you.”

Bo’s heart began to race.

“For me?”

“Yes. From a certain Korkie Kryze. Does that name sound familiar to you?”


	16. Revelations

**Part XV: Revelations**

When Makala arrived at the Nest, she was still blindfolded but that didn’t prevent her to hear the fighting. She was used to fights; the sound of blaster shots wasn’t unfamiliar to Thabeskans, especially when your name was Fardi. But what Makala was hearing that evening on Onderon wasn’t ordinary gunfire; it was bombing. She sensed her fear building up inside her. Whatever was happening seemed closer to a full-scale war than a rift between two rival gangs. In other words, everything she had promised her father wouldn’t happen. If she was to survive this, he would certainly kill her.

“Here you go,” said the man called Kalim who had escorted her to the Nest as he removed the piece of cloth covering her eyes. He was obviously eager to get rid of her so he could concentrate on helping his friends. Makala blinked a few times, briefly blinded by the sunlight. When she could see again, Kalim had disappeared, abandoning her in the middle of the fight.

She was standing between two mounts made of clay colored rock and covered with small purple ferns. But what could’ve been a beautiful landscape was spoiled by the corpses lying on the ground and the people screaming. Soldiers she identified as Gerrera’s rebels, were firing at the sky where TIE fighters were doing all sorts of deadly acrobatics. The rebels were trying to hide where they could but the terrain didn’t offer much cover.

That’s when she noticed the small wooden platform at the foot of a mountain. And Ashla. She was up there, a blaster in her hand, fighting side by side with Gerrera. The fact that her new friend knew how to use such a weapon didn’t surprise Makala anymore. She had accepted the fact that Ashla had much more skills than she was willing to tell her. Careful to avoid the blasters shots and the running dalgos, Makala crossed the distance separating her from the fort. But as she approached the ladder, somebody pushed her aside to climb first. The man was carrying a big weapon on his shoulder that Makala recognized as a missile launcher. She waited for him to reach the top of the ladder before climbing up herself. As she finally arrived on the platform, she saw the man give the missile launcher to Gerrera.

“Are those…?” She heard Ashla ask.

“The rocket launchers sent by your friend Skywalker last year, yes. They are of very good quality.”

Makala couldn’t hear Ashla’s answer but to her surprise, she saw Gerrera hand the rocket launcher to her friend.

“Want the first shot?”

Ashla smiled and before the astounded eyes of Makala, she accepted the weapon.

“With pleasure.”

But as Makala — speechless — was looking at Ahsla taking the shot, somebody suddenly grabbed her by her sleeve.

“What…?”

“Don’t stay there.”

It was one of Gerrera’s rebels. The woman dragged her away, in the safety of a cave carved in the mountain.

“Stay here,” she told Makala. “We don’t want trouble with your father, so don’t get yourself killed.”

She immediately got back to the fighting outside and Makala found herself alone in the cave. She waited a few minutes but when she understood no one would join her inside, she sat down to think. After some reflection, she decided that calling her father would be the smartest thing to do. He would certainly get worried when he would see she wasn’t coming back. She used her comlink but the only person she successfully talked to was one of her aunts who promised to deliver the message to her father. After what, Makala sat in the corner of the cave and waited. She glanced at the exterior. She would’ve liked to help but she knew she would get in the way more than anything else, so she sat down in silence until she finally fell asleep.

She was awakened by muffled voices in the cave a few hours later.

“You can’t do that, Saw!”

It was Ashla’s voice. And given the familiarity she was talking with, Makala understood that the young Togruta knew Gerrera personally. Curious to learn more about her friend’s past — and not without a hint of guilt — Makala decided to keep her eyes shut and pay attention to the exchange.

“Of course, I can!” Came the answer. “This city houses the most important Imperial outpost of the planet and right now, it’s more important for us to destroy that outpost than save the lives of those people. When the Empire is gone, it’s the whole planet that will be safe. Thousand of lives will be saved; that’s worth bombing a city.”

“But those people are not Imperials! They’re civilians; innocents! You just want to make an example and you’re willing to kill those you claim to protect in order to do it!”

Gerrera’s tone became menacing.

“Listen Ahsoka, you’re not a commander anymore.”

Ahsoka? Commander?

“If you want to help up with this, you’re welcome,” Gerrera continued. “But don’t tell me what I can do on my own planet!”

That was the very moment Makala chose the open her eyes. A few meters away, in the entrance of the cavern, Ashla — or was it Ahsoka? — was facing Gerrera, her arms crossed.

“You know I won’t help you do that,” she said with aplomb.

“Fine, then,” coldly replied Gerrera before exiting the cave.

With a sigh, Ashla turned around to walk deeper into the cave when her eyes met Makala’s.

“You’re awake?” She asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Who are you?” Was Makala’s only answer.

Ashla lowered her eyes.

“You heard us.”

“Yes.”

The Togruta’s shoulders slumped and she moved closer to Makala before sitting down next to her.

“My real name is not Ashla. It’s Ahsoka,” she said after a few minutes of silence.

“Why did you lie to us?”

She was more hurt than angry and Ahsoka seemed to understand because she didn’t try to defend herself.

“You knew Gerrera before we arrived on Onderon but you didn’t tell me,” Makala continued.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“It was to protect you.”

There was some despair in Ahsoka’s voice, as if she was holding back what she really wanted to say.

“Was that part of your little arrangement with my father?”

Deep down, she knew it wasn’t, but Makala still hoped that the girl she had fallen in love with wasn’t just a lie.

“No. Your father has nothing to do with it. It’s… I mean, you… You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me!”

Now there was despair in Makala’s voice too.

“I can’t. It would endanger you and me both.”

“Alright,” Makala said, standing up. “I’m tired of this. If you won’t tell me…”

“I’m a Jedi.”

The Fardi girl froze. She had expected a lot of things, but not that.

“You can’t be,” she said. “Jedis are all dead.”

“Not me,” Ahsoka replied and the profound sadness Makala saw in her eyes was enough to convince the young woman that her friend was telling the truth.

She sat down again and they both remained silent as Makala processed the news.

“That’s why he called you a commander,” Makala finally said. “You fought in the war.”

“Yes.”

Another silence.

“Why did you tell me?”

Ahsoka let out a little laugh.

“Because you kept asking me!”

“You could’ve lied.”

“I could have. But after all this time… I don’t know, I felt like I owed you the truth. You’re not easy to lie to.”

She was trying to be funny but her heart wasn’t in it.

“Why am I not easy to lie to?”

“I don’t know,” Ahsoka whispered.

The Togruta looked up to her and Makala couldn’t help it; she kissed her.

**********

“It’s a shame you don’t stay with us,” Saw said.

“I think it’s for the best,” Ahsoka replied. “I don’t think you would’ve liked to have me around, constantly disagreeing with you.”

“Probably not,” Saw admitted with a smile.

“Plus, I have some… unfinished business on Thabeska,” she said, discreetly glancing at Makala who was standing next to their ship, waiting for her.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, you know how to find me.”

“And you know how to find me. I would be glad to lend a hand. If you plan doesn’t involve collateral damage and civilian lives, of course.”

“I’ll try to see what I can do. Stay safe, commander Tano.”

She beamed.

“You too.”

And as she walked into the ship, she felt like of a billion thoughts were crossing her mind. She could’ve stayed with Saw and fight for a cause. She would’ve become a target for the Empire — even more than she already was — but it wouldn’t have mattered as she would’ve had a team to help her and the means to fight back. But she had refused. For Makala. When the girl had kissed her, Ahsoka had not known how to react. She had not kissed her back, but she had not broken free from her embrace either. She remembered Lux and their mission on Carlac. It seemed like a hundred years ago. At the time, she had fought against her own desires because of the Jedi code she was bound to respect. It wasn’t the case anymore, but she wondered if she was really free. What would happen if she decided to stay with Makala; to kiss her back? Could she allow herself to get attached when she knew she could have to flee at any moment? Could she live with the risk of putting the person she loved in danger? Ahsoka knew the answer but something in her wanted to believe it was possible; that she could be happy again.


	17. First and Last Night

**Part XVI: First and Last Night**

Bo-Katan looked around her with her helmet on. Yep, the viewplate was clean enough for her to see. She slid her rangerfinder over it and her vision was immediately enhanced as the visor focused and zoomed in on various objects across the dining room. She had never really doubted the quality of her equipment, but she wanted to make sure that, after all those weeks without using it, her armor would be handy to use again.

A few days ago, Korkie had finally called her back after receiving the message she had sent from the Imperial base. He had put together a small team of Mandalorian loyalists who were willing to fight to resist the Imperial occupation and Bo-Katan had decided to join them without a second thought. They were not so many but Bo knew more people would join them once they knew they were not the only ones opposing the Empire; once they knew they had a chance to stand against it. You only needed a spark to start a rebellion. After all, Death Watch had remained a minority among Mandalorians for a while before being able to convince the people to join their cause. History really was repeating itself.

Satisfied to see her armor was still fully operational, she raised her hands to remove her helmet when a sound caught her attention. It was a faint groan coming from upstairs that she would have never heard without her helmet on. She took it off and carefully put it on a small table next to the rest of her gear before climbing the stairs leading to the second floor. The sound was coming from Rex’s bedroom. She pushed the door, only to find him sitting on his bed, shirtless, with one end of a bandage loosely wrapped around his shoulder and the other end between his teeth. The Mandalorian immediately understood the situation.

“Alright, give that to me,” she said with a sigh. “You won’t be able to do it alone.”

“I whas jus about to sucsheed,” he managed to say with the cloth in his mouth.

“No, you were not.”

She grabbed his cloth and removed it entirely from his arm in order to start the bandage all over again. The wound was almost entirely healed, now. The bandage was more of a formality.

“Thanks,” Rex said. “Cut usually helps me with that, but as he wasn’t here, I thought I could…”

“Handle it youself?”

He nodded. The Lawquanes had gone to a festival in town and would be out for the evening. Both Rex and Bo-Katan would’ve gladly come with them, but even if months had passed since their arrival on Saleucami, it was still risky for them to show their faces in public. And since it was her last day on the farm before leaving to meet with Korkie, Bo-Katan had decided to take the opportunity to pack her things.

“You could’ve asked for help, you know. It’s not because I don’t have the same face as you that I cannot help.”

“I know, I just…. It’s not something I’m used to. Having people who are not brothers or Jedis helping me, I mean.”

But both the Jedis and the Republic were gone, now. And Rex would have to learn to trust other people. But she knew he was smart enough to understand it by himself so she didn’t say it out loud and focused on her task. That’s when she noticed something on the upper part of his chest. It looked like a scar.

“How did you get that?” She asked, nodding towards the mark.

He looked down.

“Oh, that? It’s the wound that brought me here in the first place.”

“The first time you met Cut?”

“Yes”

He chuckled.

“When I think that I lectured him about being a deserter and leaving the army…”

He lowered his head.

“For many months after that first encounter, I convinced myself that I would never become like him. I would stay loyal to the Republic; to my Jedi; to my men, until my death. I had been created for that purpose; trained for it. The war — _this war_ — was my life. Without it I was nothing.”

The young soldier looked at his palms as if he didn’t know what to do with them anymore.

“Still, after meeting Cut, I began to see things differently. More and more of my brothers were dying and everything was losing its sense.”

He raised his eyes to stare at something only he could see.

“Then I caught myself wondering when all of it would be over. Wishing for it to be over. And every time I tried to picture myself free, in a peaceful world, I couldn’t help but see the picture of Cut Lawquane and his family on their farm.”

“A peaceful world…” She repeated, trying to imagine what it would look like.

She was fighting since she was only a teenager and hadn’t stopped since. And it didn’t look like things were about to get any better. Rex was right. Those months spent with the Lawquanes were the closest thing to peace she had experienced in a long time. And it would probably be long before she could experience it again.

“When my sister took power, a lot people became farmers so the system would be less dependent on imports. It was also a way for those who had fought to return to civilian life and reintegrate into society after years of civil war. I used to despise these people; these farmers. To me, real Mandalorians were supposed to be warriors. They would take from others what they needed to survive, not cultivate it.”

She briefly closed her eyes.

“Now, I would gladly give everything that I have to see Mandalore at peace, inhabited by thousand of farmers.”

That was painful to admit, but it was the truth.

She suddenly felt something brushing her fingers and realized it was Rex who had taken her hand in his to squeeze it. It was an intimate gesture she hadn’t share with anyone in a long time. Not since Pre’s death. But at this very moment, it felt right. She knew Rex understood her.

They remained still before Rex finally let go of her hand to allow her to finish his bandage. Which she did, in silence. She was almost done when she saw another scar on his right side that looked like it had been made by a series of stitches.

“What about this one? Where does it come from?” She asked.

To her surprise, he smiled.

“I got this one from my brother Wolffe. He broke my ribs during a Mandalorian wrestling match back in the days when we were still training on Kamino.”

“Wait,” she said, shaking her head. “You know Mandalorian wrestling?”

“Well, yes. Our instructors had taught us without the Kaminoans knowing. We use to fight during the night when nobody was watching us. It was a game; a training and a way to solve the problems we had with a brother at the same time.”

“Were you good at it?”

He grinned.

“I won our little tournament three years in a row.”

**********

Rex hit the floor with a thud. Fortunately, the bed of hay covering the floor of the barn where they had chosen to fight was thick enough to cushion the impact.

“Lost your touch, captain?” Bo asked with a knee against his throat.

He had mistakenly thought that, being smaller and thinner than his brothers, she would be easier to beat. He should have known better.

“Giving up, yet?” She added with a victorious smirk.

But it looked like she was underestimating him as well. And he wouldn’t do the same mistake. He remained still a few more seconds only to let her drop her guard. Then, he swiftly grabbed her knee and pulled it towards him, causing the to lose her balance. And when he lifted his hips, it was enough for her to fall on the side, allowing him to perform a new hold. Now, he had the upper hand and she was the one nailed to the floor. She was on her stomach; the victory seemed within reach.

“Not yet,” he answered.

Spitting out the hair she had in her mouth, she slightly turned her head on the side. A broad smile was spread across her face.

“Ah… A challenge, then…”

And before he even got the time to figure out what she meant; she had moved again. And before he knew it, his legs went over his head and once more, he was the one in the hay.

Sitting astride him, Bo-Katan was smiling again.

“I bet your instructors never showed you this one, huh? Probably wanted to make sure they would always win against you.”

Rex was usually a sore loser, but not this time. He was glad to admit she had made a brilliant move.

“Alright, I give up. You won.”

“Of course, I did!” She answered, her eyes shining.

Normally, after the end of the round, the fighters would rise and salute but for some reason, Bo-Katan didn’t move. And Rex suddenly became very aware of her warm skin against his; her heavy breath on his face; her strong thighs around his sides…

And when she leaned over to kiss him, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her back without even thinking about it.


	18. Once a Jedi, Always a Jedi

**Part XVII: Once a Jedi, Always a Jedi**

Ahsoka took a few steps back to have a better look at the droid she was repairing. She tilted her head to the side; maybe that arm was a little crooked after all. She glanced at the chrono on her wrist. She wouldn’t have the time to do it before her lunch break; she might as well take her pause right now. With a little sigh, she removed her goggles and put her tools on a stool next to her. She had forgotten how hot the Fardi’s shipyard could become when the sun was at its zenith.

After their mission on Onderon, Fardi had refused to let Makala leave Thabeska again. The girl had been sent to help her aunts with domestic work and Ahsoka had returned to the shipyard to repair Fardi’s ships and droids. It could have been particularly boring if Makala had not found a way to sneak out of her family’s house to spend her evenings with Ahsoka. Sometimes they would stay at her house, but most of the time, Makala would take her out of the town to show her the Thabeskan countryside or other cities of the region. And for the first time in months, Ahsoka began to heal. The time spent with Makala; her comfortable company, almost filled the void created by the sudden disappearance of the other Jedis and the collapse of the world she had always known. Almost.

She was still thinking about the evening to come when a loud noise followed by laughs caught her attention. Ahsoka immediately rushed to “the dump”, a part of the shipyard where workers would dump the ships parts and droids too old or too damaged to be repaired. Usually, only people working in the shipyard were allowed to go there, but during the last few weeks, Ahsoka had noticed that a group of Fardi girls had chosen the place to play games. And sure enough, when she reached the dump, she saw three girls climbing on top of a pile of crates that seemed dangerously unstable.

“Hey!” She shouted. “Get down from there!”

She knew the girls didn’t like when she was raising her voice — they were not used to people scolding them — but at the moment, Ahsoka didn’t care. She much preferred knowing the girls were safe than making them like her.

The three children immediately turned in her direction, but in the panic, one of the girls slipped on one crate and the whole thing collapsed. For a second, Ahsoka watched with horror as the girls’ laughs became screams when they realized that everything was crumbling beneath them. Then, purely by reflex, she raised her hands and called upon the Force to stop the crates from falling and prevent the girls to be crushed.

The crates lightly settled on the ground and so did the girls. Ahsoka sighed with relief; none of them had been hurt. The fear that one of the girls had noticed the strangeness of the situation crossed her mind, but the three of them seemed too relieved to have escaped the worst to care. Still, Ahsoka decided not to let them the chance to think about what just happened too much. She walked towards with her most severe look.

“What are you doing here? You know you’re not supposed to play out here. You were almost crushed by falling crates. That’s no way for a Fardi to go out!”

Three pairs of eyes stared at her, terrified. But Ahsoka knew the threat of a punishment was the only thing that would prevent them to talk about the incident, protecting her own secret at the same time.

“Please! Don’t tell our uncle,” one of them pleaded.

Ahsoka crossed her arms.

“And what if it was the only way to prevent you from coming back and endanger yourself?”

“We won’t come back again, we promise!” Another one said, tears in her eyes.

“We’ll give you anything you want! We have lots of candies…”

Despite the tentative of corruption — something even the youngest Fardis seemed to master — she couldn’t help but smile at their offer.

“How much can you give me?” She asked.

“Half!”

“I’ll only accept two thirds.”

The girls glanced at each other as if consulting together.

“We’ll give you two thirds.”

“Deal.”

They high-fived her to seal the promise and Ahsoka let them go. She was about to leave the shipyard herself to go to lunch when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned around and saw little Hedala Fardi’s head sticking out a crate. She must have been left behind by the others who deemed her too young to play with them. The girl was looking at her with wide eyes and Ahsoka immediately knew the youngest of the Fardi girls hadn’t missed a second of the scene.

When she came home that evening, she found Makala sitting on her bed as usual, but Ahsoka couldn’t bring herself to smile when she saw her friend.

In truth, Makala had been more than a friend lately, but the term “girlfriend” still sounded wrong in Ahsoka’s head. Even if she had left the Order for a little more than a year now, the teachings of the Jedis still resounded within her. She had done nothing wrong but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had.

“Not too soon,” Makala said, standing up. “What took you so long?” She asked with a smile.

She didn’t wait for Ahsoka’s answer before walking towards the young Torguta and kissed her gently to greet her. But her smile faded when she felt Ahsoka’s lips remaining immobile.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” the other answered with a sigh.

Makala frowned.

“I’m not Force-sensitive but I can see there _is_ something wrong.”

Her words seemed to trigger something in Ahsoka as the Togruta brought her hand up to her forehead with a small noise which sounded like a groan.

“What is it?” Makala insisted.

Ahsoka looked at her for a moment then sighed.

“I guess there’s no point hiding it from you.”

“You’re starting to worry me.”

“It’s your sister. Hedala.”

Makala froze.

“What about her?”

“Something… Something happened today and…”

She paused, hesitating.

“Well, I think she might be Force-sensitive.”

She saw the panic in Makala’s eyes.

“What makes you say that?” The Fardi girl asked.

“She saw me using the Force. Nobody else understood what happened but I am certain Hedala did.”

As if in a trance, Makala went back to Ahsoka’s bed and slumped into it.

“No… It can’t be. Hedala has always been different, but…”

She lifted her gaze to look into Ahsoka’s eyes.

“She would be hunted down by the Empire like you.”

Ahsoka decided to be honest.

“Well… She is too young to have been trained by the Jedis, but I doubt the Empire will ignore the Force-sensitive children of the galaxy. Whether it’s to kill them or recruit them, I can’t tell, but she would have to stay hidden.”

“She can’t!” Makala said with despair in her voice. “You are strong, you’ve been trained all of your life. But Hedala… She’s just a child.”

Ahsoka didn’t know what to say.

“Train her.”

She turned to Makala.

“What?”

“Train her. That way she will be able to defend herself if the Empire comes.”

“I can’t,” Ahsoka protested.

Makala got up and walked towards her to take Ahsoka’s hands in hers.

“Please, it’s her only chance!”

“She’s too young. No amount of training would make her able to resist the Empire by herself before a couple of years. Plus, if they discover she has been trained by a Jedi…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t want to scare Makala more than she already was, but Ahsoka knew that a child who had been trained was more of a menace to the Empire than one who had not. And so far, the Empire had always sought to destroy what was threatening it.

“Then she is lost,” Makala whispered, dropping her hands.

“Hey,” Ahsoka said, cupping her chin in her hand to force the young woman to look at her. “The Empire has not found her, yet. And who knows, I might be wrong. Perhaps she is not even Force-sensitive.”

But Ahsoka didn’t dare hope for that much.

And three days later, that hope vanished for good.

As Ahsoka was leaving the shipyard after a long working day, she had found young Hedala Fardi on her way. She was alone and by the smile she gave Ahsoka, the Togruta knew Hedala had been waiting for her. When she had asked the girl what she was doing there, Hedala had only lifted a hand and a small rock next to her had risen into the air before Ahsoka’s horrified gaze.

That evening, she had taken an important decision. She would tell Fardi the whole truth. She hoped that knowing his own daughter was in danger and that Ahsoka was the only being for miles around that was able to help her — she refused to think she was the only remaining Jedi in all the galaxy — would prevent Fardi to give away her true identity and alert the Empire.

The following morning, Ahsoka didn’t take the road leading to the shipyard. Instead, she walked straight to Fardi’s house, determined to convince him to let her take care of Hedala. Despite what she had told Makala and herself, she knew she was Hedala’s best chance of survival. She wasn’t sure what exactly she would teach the girl. After all, she had never been more than a padawan herself. One thing was for sure, she would ensure Hedala knew how to control her abilities so she could hide them would the Empire ever come on Thabeska. Once that was done, Ahsoka would do her best to pass on everything Anakin had taught her.

The thought of her old master made her flinch. She missed him everyday but she had stopped looking for him in the Force. Every time she had tried to reach out to him, she had found the place where he used to be empty. And every time it had felt like someone was stabbing her. The pain didn’t lessen, she was just getting more used to live with it.

When she arrived at Fardi’s house, it was still early in the morning. Ahsoka knew through Makala that her aunts were late sleepers so Ahsoka was fairly certain she could speak to Fardi away from prying eyes and ears. But when she arrived at the door of the lounge he used as his office; a guard immediately blocked her way.

“The boss is with someone. You will have to wait.”

A meeting that early? Ahsoka was a bit surprised.

“For how long?” She asked.

“I can’t tell, miss.”

Ahsoka did her best to hide her frustration.

“Fine, then. I’ll wait here.”

She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, and waited. And after a few minutes, the voice of Fardi filled the room.

“Is it Ashla, Tariv?”

“Yes, sir,” she heard the guard answer.

“Let her in.”

The guard turned to Ahsoka.

“You may go, now.”

“Thank you”

She entered the lounge and immediately noticed Makala sitting on a couch across her father. She could only see her back but Ahsoka would have recognized that neck and that hair anywhere.

“Ashla, perfect timing!” Fardi said with a big smile. “I was going to send someone to fetch you.”

Ahsoka raised a brow. That wasn’t the welcome she had expected.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes. Sit down, please,” he said, gesturing at the couch in front of him.

Ahsoka did as he said. She got around the edge of the couch to sit next to Makala and only then did she notice the young woman’s face. Makala’s expression was perfectly neutral but it was easy to see she had cried. Her eyes were red and puffy and her nostrils were irritated as if she had blown her nose too much. Ahsoka managed to stifle the urge to take her in her arms to comfort her but couldn’t supress the worried look she cast her.

“Is everything alright?” She asked to Fardi and his daughter.

“Yes, thank you,” Makala said with a tone too polite to be sincere.

“My daughter has good news to share with you,” Fardi added, still grinning.

His joy was beginning to worry Ahsoka. Nevertheless, she turned to Makala who swallowed hard before croaking.

“I am getting married.”

The news came as a cold shower for Ahsoka. She was left in shock for a few seconds then pulled herself together, or at least just enough to talk again.

“It’s… It’s wonderful, Makala. I wish you all the happiness you could ever know.”

“Thank you, Ashla.”

“I know you are a good friend of Makala,” said Fardi whose presence had been forgotten by Ahsoka for a short time. “I thought you would like to tell her goodbye before she leaves for her fiancé’s household.”

Ahsoka lifted her gaze towards Fardi. He was still smiling but when she tapped into the Force to try to understand what was really happening in the room, she only sensed anger in him. Somehow, she realized, he knew. He knew for Makala and her and he was not happy about it. That little meeting wasn’t a goodbye, it was a punishment. Fardi wanted to separate them for good and he was going to make sure that both of them understood the message. Makala wouldn’t go against her father’s will anymore and Ahsoka was to stay away from the Fardi girls. She was their employee. Nothing more.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure of her decision to tell him about Hedala anymore. His trust in her had certainly been shaken and he probably wouldn’t allow her to grow too familiar with one of his daughters again; even if it was only to train her. On the contrary, telling him about her Jedi past would serve as an excellent pretext to turn her over to the Empire, thus keeping her away of Makala’s life forever.

Guilt overwhelmed Ahsoka as she realized the mistake she had made. She had gotten attached and because of that, Makala was getting married and Hedala would never receive the training she needed to survive. She might not be a Jedi anymore but that didn’t mean she could afford attachment. She understood the lesson.


	19. Choices

**Part XVIII: Choices**

Subconsciously, Rex woke up when he stopped feeling the warmth of Bo-Katan’s body next to him. He blinked a few times and then slowly turned on his side to look at the spot where she had been lying just a few minutes earlier. Noticing she wasn’t there anymore, he rose and leaned on his elbows to scan the rest of the barn. She was just a few meters away, picking up her clothes on a hay bale to get dressed. He only got a brief glimpse on her bare back and breasts before she put on her shirt.

Her body was very different from those of the women he had known before. Whereas their bodies had been all flesh and curves, Bo-Katan’s was lean and firm; barely feminine with its scars and muscles more visible than hips and breasts. Rex remembered the waitresses at 79’s and the girls who where hanging out there in the hope of leaving with a clone. He remembered the nervousness and excitement they had all felt when his brothers and him had set foot on Coruscant for the first time. They had never seen women who were not Kaminoans before. It had also been one of the two times Rex had slept with one of them. The second had been during their first night on leave after Umbara, but he didn’t remember much of it. He didn’t want to. The rest of the time, war had been his one and only concern; he had given body and soul to his work. Of course, he was aware that some of his brothers had made a girlfriend or a boyfriend on Coruscant, and even on other planets. With a heavy heart, he thought about the sweet Theelin girl that was probably still waiting for Jesse on Coruscant. Those kinds of relationships weren’t recommended by military authorities, but Rex had always turned a blind eye to it. These men and women had helped his brothers to cope with war trauma and he was grateful for that. As a commander, he had never gotten the time to maintain such a relationship. Especially when his general had the habit of disappearing for hours as soon as they used to land on Coruscant, leaving the entire administration of the 501st to Rex.

For a short while, he had thought all women were like those girls in clone bars. But that was before meeting women like Ahsoka, senator Amidala or even general Ti. And now Bo-Katan.

“Where are you going?” He asked in a daze.

She was now hopping on one foot to put her pants on.

“I’m heading back to the house. The sun will be up in a few hours and…”

She stopped.

“Well, I’m leaving this morning.”

He thought he heard a hint of regret in her voice but he wasn’t awake enough to be sure.

“Ah, yes… To reunite with this… Korkie. Who’s this guy, anyways?”

She turned to him with a smile.

“You’re jealous?”

“No. Curious, that’s all.”

“You _are_ jealous!”

She laughed and came back to lie on the haystack besides him.

“Korkie’s my nephew if you must know.”

He couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. Could she be right? Was he jealous? He didn’t think so. But still, Bo-Katan had become a friend during the past weeks — the first who wasn’t a Jedi or a brother — and she had been the first woman ever to be with him, not because he was a clone, but because he was Rex. And that meant something to him.

He wondered if that was what Cut had felt with Suu. Once again, he tried to picture what his life would have looked like if he had done like his brother; if he had settled somewhere, found someone… Only this time, it was different. Rex suddenly realized that all of it could become real. They weren’t just fantasies anymore. Nothing prevented him to follow Cut’s steps and to make a life of his own. Somehow, the realization hurt him. His old life, the only one he had ever known was well and truly over. It was exciting and scary at the same time.

“Your nephew?” He said, redirecting his thoughts to the conversation. “Satine’s son?”

He vaguely remembered the Mandalorian duchess he had once met during a trip from Mandalore to Coruscant with Cody, Kenobi and Skywalker.

“I don’t know,” Bo replied.

“You don’t know? How can you not know this?”

“Well, when Korkie was born I had already cut ties with the rest of my siblings and joined Death Watch. I didn’t learn about Korkie’s existence until years later. Officially, he is the son of our brother Voz who died early during the civil war and he was raised with Satine in the palace on Sundari. At the time, I was surprised to learn that my brother had had a son. We had always been close and yet he had never told me about his child. But I had no reason to doubt this story.”

“And now you have?”

“Oh yeah. Since I met your friend Kenobi for the first time.”

Rex almost choke.

“General Kenobi?”

She laughed.

“You have another friend named Kenobi?”

He growled.

“Very funny. Go on.”

“Voz had red hair just like me and Korkie, but Kenobi…”

She paused.

“I don’t know for sure. And I guess I never will now that my sister is dead. But let’s just say the resemblance was sufficient to sow doubt in my mind.”

Rex shook his head.

“I can’t believe it. Not general Kenobi.”

She shrugged.

“Jedis are human just like the rest of us. He had an affair with my sister back in the days. Of that I am sure.”

She wasn’t wrong. He had known for his general and senator Amidala and he had been on Onderon when Ahsoka had met with Lux Bonteri again; he had seen how she had been looking at him. But still, something felt out of place. He had always placed Jedis on a pedestal; seen them as exceptional beings well above his brothers and him. That image had been shaken on Umbara of course, but this was different. Bo-Katan’s story didn’t make the Jedis monsters like Krell had turned out to be, but humans with weaknesses and flaws. He had always thought that Anakin’s lapses had been an exception rather than the rule among Jedis given the fact that he had always been so unorthodox. But if Kenobi had done the same, then it changed everything. Rex had always tried to live up to the Jedis’ expectations; to be worthy of them. But he was slowly realizing that Jedis were imperfect and that maybe he had worshiped gods that never existed. If they had seized the chance to enjoy what life had to offer, then maybe Rex could too.

“Well,” He said, falling back on the hay bed.

He stretched and felt Bo-Katan’s gaze on him.

“I would’ve left the barn with you, but I wouldn’t want to wake up the kids too early, you know. As they have school and all…”

She perfectly understood.

“Oh, I see… You’re right. Maybe I should stay here a little longer, then.”

“You’re already dressed,” he said, running the back of his hand on her waist and hip before grabbing the waistband of her pants.

That made her smile.

“It can be remedied…”

**********

“So…” Suu said as they were all sitting around the table for breakfast. “I take it you didn’t get too bored during our absence yesterday.”

Rex and Bo-Katan froze.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you two smile that much since you arrived here,” the Twi’lek explained.

“Oh, huh… Yes,” Bo-Katan replied. “That’s because we did a few matches of Mandalorian wrestling in the barn, last night. It reminded us of good memories.”

Suu raised a brow.

“Mandalorian wrestling, huh? I see…”

Rex cleared his throat.

“Right. It’s already 0825, if we don’t want to leave too late…”

He had decided to leave the Lawquane’s house at the same time as Bo. He would take a different ship than Bo-Katan but her departure had motivated him to do the same and he knew it would be easier for the children to have only one farewell to say.

“Of course,” Bo said. “I’ll pick up my things. Are you ready?”

“Yeah”

The children’s farewells took time and tears. They had gotten attached to Bo and Rex and didn’t quite understand why they had to leave. But the school shuttle had finally arrived to pick them up, putting an end to the parting that was starting to drag on. And the adults were left alone.

“Thank you for your help on the farm, Bo-Katan,” Suu said with a warm smile.

“No, I should be the one to thank you. You took a great risk by accepting to hide me.”

“I know what it’s like to be a fugitive,” Cut said. “Helping you was the only thing to do.”

There was a moment of silence before Suu seemed to realize something.

“Come on, Cut,” she said, tugging on his sleeve. “We have a lot of work to do today.”

“No, we don’t. We…”

“ _Come on!_ ” She insisted.

His look went from Bo-Katan to Rex and from Rex to Bo-Katan before he finally understood.

“Oh!” He said. “Right.”

Suu smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Have a nice trip,” she said to Bo-Katan. “And if you ever pass by Saleucami, don’t hesitate to come by and say hi.”

“I will,” Bo promised.

And with a last smile, the Lawquanes disappeared inside the house.

“So…” Rex said. “This is it, then.”

“This is it.”

They remained silent for a few seconds.

“You know,” Bo-katan began, “Mandalorian isn’t a race but a creed. We have a long history of adopting strangers from all around the galaxy. I mean, you’re not exactly foreign to our culture, but…”

He wasn’t sure what she was getting at and she seemed to notice.

“What I’m trying to say is… Rex, you’re a great soldier and one of the best tacticians I’ve ever met. I would be more than happy to welcome you into our ranks.”

The proposition took him by surprise. But for a moment, he considered it. How nice would it be to go back on the land of his ancestors? He may not have grown on Mandalore but the blood running through his veins was Mandalorian. Maybe he had parents there. A father; a mother; siblings or cousins. Family with a different face than his. And which soldier on the galaxy would turn down the offer to become a fully fledge Mandalorian? He could continue to do what he was the best at, for a cause and with Bo at his side. He could have never dreamed of a better future. But he knew it wouldn’t happen.

The memories of order 66 still haunted him as well as his last goodbye to Ahsoka. And he couldn’t forget what he had learned during their trip to the Imperial base on Abridon; the terrible fate of his surviving brothers. _Aliit ori'shya tal'din_. Family is more than blood. The Mandalorians knew better than anyone that blood ties didn’t make family. And his family was Ahsoka and his brothers — not because they shared the same DNA, but because he had fought alongside them. He had chosen them and they had chosen him and their bond would always be stronger than the connections he could share with any stranger on Mandalore related to Jango Fett. Maybe someday he could have both, but for now, his real family was scattered across the galaxy, some maybe even in danger and he couldn’t abandon them.

“Thank you, but my place is elsewhere. I need to find out what happened to Ahsoka and to my brothers. They need me.”

Bo-Katan didn’t seem offended.

“I understand.”

She made a move, as if to lean towards him but decided against it and put her helmet on.

“Good luck in your quest, then.”

“You too. I hope you’ll be able to kick the Empire out of Mandalore.”

“You can count on me.”

And with that, she turned around and walked away.

Her ship had just taken off when Cut got out of the house again. He stood silently behind Rex as they watch the Gauntlet until it finally left their sight.

“You should’ve gone with her,” Cut said, putting a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “I know you want to help our brothers, but what happened to them is not your fault. You don’t owe them. Stop thinking about others, Rex. Start thinking about you.”

“Yeah… Maybe you’re right.”

He sighed.

“But I could never be able to look at myself in the mirror again if I didn’t try, Cut.”

“I know,” his brothers said softly. “That’s what makes you a good leader and a good brother. And I hope that someday, you’ll get praised for that.”


	20. Epilogue: Reunion

**Epilogue: Reunion**

Rex winced. Despite the burning sensation that was quickly starting to radiate all over his arm, he summoned his forces to flex his muscle a little more. On the seat in front of him, Zeb groaned in pain.

“Why… don’t you just… give up?” Rex managed to say.

The Lasat groaned again.

“I won’t… lose… to… an old man…”

Although he would never admit it, Rex had been longing for another answer from Zeb. He had lost track of time but he knew their arm-wrestling match had lasted too long and he wasn’t sure how long he could still hold on. And the longer the match was keeping on, the harder it was becoming for any of them to give up. That was why when the door of the ship slid open behind him, Rex — focused as he was — didn’t hear it.

“Impressive,” a voice said. “Even after all these years, he can still keep up with a Lasat in his prime.”

Out of surprise, Rex suddenly let go of his arm. In front of him, Zeb threw his fists in the air and uttered a shout of victory. But the outcome of their little arm-wrestling match didn’t matter to Rex anymore.

That voice… He turned around to see the person who had spoken and smiled when he recognized her. Kanaan, Ezra and Sabine had all returned to the Ghost and with them, clad in her usual Mandalorian armor, Bo-Katan Kryze herself.

She hadn’t changed much. Sure, she had aged — though not as much as Rex; wrinkles had joined the freckles around her eyes but he could still see that fire in her beautiful green irises when she smiled at him.

“Bo-Katan,” Ezra said, “this is Zeb, our resident Lasat.”

Zeb nodded in her direction.

“And this is Rex. He is… was a friend of Ahsoka who accepted to join our crew.”

Oblivious to the glances Rex and Bo-Katan were already exchanging, Ezra continued.

“Zeb, Rex, this is lady Bo-Katan Kryze. She has just been made the new leader of Mandalore.”

Rex smiled and crossed his arms.

“Certainly took you long enough.”

Bo-Katan smirked.

“Ah! But in the end, I did it without your help.”

Ezra shot them a surprised look.

“You guys… know each other?”

Next to him, Sabine snaped her fingers as if she had just remembered something important.

“Of course! You fought together during the Siege of Mandalore, right? Mom told me the stories.”

“We did,” Bo-Katan answered. “Though it wasn’t the best fun we had together…”

Ezra frowned then seemed to understand.

“Oh!”

Rex almost seemed insulted.

“Don’t act so surprised, kid. I was once young and handsome just like the two of you,” he said, nodding towards Kanaan and Ezra.

“I can confirm,” Bo-Katan said with another smirk. “You didn’t age too bad, though.”

Kanaan rolled his eyes.

“Alright, Ezra, Sabine, come with me. We’ll let the two lovebirds catch up.”

The two teenagers followed him, not without a last glance directed at Rex and Bo-Katan. Once they were all gone, Rex rose from his chair.

“I’m happy for you,” he said. “And I’m glad to know that siege wasn’t in vain.”

“Me too.”

Her expression suddenly became much more serious.

“That’s… thanks to Ahsoka.”

The name of his friend was sufficient to make Rex’s heart sink. He lowered his eyes.

“She’s…”

“I know,” Bo-Katan said gently. “Your friends told me. I’m very sorry. She was a good friend of mine too.”

He knew she was sincere. It took him a few more seconds to pull himself together and lift his head, a smirk across the face.

“So… Does that mean I have to call you duchess, now?”

She punched him in the shoulder.

“Don’t even try!”

He laughed. Life was good. He was reunited with Bo; with his brothers and he was even fighting alongside two Jedis again. And that day, Bo-Katan’s presence in particular was especially significant. It was thanks to her that he had realized he was free to live the life he wanted and their relationship had been the first act of this new life. He had loved and cried; found some of his brothers and lost others; worked as a free man; loved Bo again; reunited with Ahsoka only to lose her for a third time.

Ahsoka.

He spared a thought for his old friend. If it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t be aboard the Ghost that day. By saving his life on the Venator all those years ago, she too had given him a chance to live freely. It was unfair that she had to go before him. He didn’t know exactly where she was now, but he knew she had joined the Force and that the Force surrounded them.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

And he followed Bo to the cockpit where the rest of the crew was waiting for them.

**********

In the middle of the desert, Ahsoka smiled. She was certain to be the only person for miles around, yet she had perfectly received the wave of gratitude aimed towards her through the Force. On her shoulder, Morai cooed.

“I know, I know,” Ahsoka told the bird. “I will go back to him.”

She hated that she couldn’t let her friends know she was alive but, in this timeline, she had to remain dead to them just a little longer, or at least until the new Ezra would drag her out of that spatio-temporal portal.

“But not yet. I have one more thing to do before.”

She folded her long white cloak tighter on her chest and resumed her journey.

She didn’t know how long it took her to arrive at the foot of the bluff. Many days had passed but she hadn’t counted them. It didn’t really matter. It was when she had seen the small terracotta house on top of the cliff that she had known her journey was over.

She began to climb to the summit of the bluff. It was an easy task for someone with her abilities and yet, in the middle of her ascent, she stopped dead. Standing in front of the house was a hooded man in a large brown cloak and her heart missed a beat when she recognized him.

Deep down, she had always known he wasn’t dead. Or at least since that day in the cantina with Rex and Bo-Katan when she had seen his face on the wanted notice issued by the Empire. Then there had been that time on Utapau when she had sensed he hadn’t died when the clones had turned against him. And all those hints given — intentionally or not — by Bail Organa during their time working together… Until the senator had finally decided to tell her the truth.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was alive. And he was on a mission.


End file.
